Imran Khan vows to hold talks with Taliban to end war on terrorism

Dubai: Pakistan's new political sensation Imran Khan has said that he can negotiate with the Taliban to end the "so-called war on terrorism" if he is given the mandate to do so.

"I can talk to them [the Taliban] if the government and parties concerned sanction this and ask me to get involved. I am ready to talk to them in the best interest of the country because this war is ‘burying' Pakistan," Khan told Gulf News on the sidelines of a fund-raising dinner for his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKMT) which runs a cancer hospital in Lahore. The event was held at the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai and was attended by more than 1,000 people from different nationalities, mainly the Pakistani elite in the UAE.

Reacting to a question about the Taliban's move to open an office in Qatar, Khan said there was no harm in it as it was the first positive step towards holding talks with them. "I told the world some eight years ago that there was no military solution to this problem as the only way out is to hold talks and settle it politically but at that time they called me ‘Taliban Khan' but now they all agree with me as they could not win this so-called war on terrorism," he said.

Solution in talking

Khan said it was important for Pakistan to get out of the US war on terrorism because the country had already suffered losses to the tune of $50 billion (Dh183.6 billion) during the last ten years leading to economic crisis, poverty and instability. "The sooner we get out of this war, the quicker Pakistan will get back on its feet," he added.

He said he could find a solution by talking to them because he knows the areas and the people.

Khan, who is also chairman of his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or Justice Movement, strongly condemned the tabling of a bill earlier this month in the US House of Representatives calling upon Pakistan to ‘recognise the right to self-determination for Balochistan. "The US has no right to talk about this issue as it is sheer interference in Pakistan's internal affairs and I strongly condemn it," he said.

Khan is holding talks with Baloch leaders including the separatist groups who want to see a separate Balochistan.

"We have understood each other and I will give a package to resolve the Balochistan issue in my public rally scheduled to be held in Quetta, Balochistan, on April 10," he added. Khan, who is vying to win the next general elections, said that his youth revolution which he termed a "tsunami" will sweep the next general elections.

He has strongly emerged as a third political option in Pakistan and has become a household name after his two mammoth rallies in Lahore and Karachi.

Khan slowed down his political campaign after a December 25 rally in Karachi because his party was busy preparing a new constitution and policy papers on key issues in Pakistan, he said.

He said he was also restructuring his party and doing re-organisational work appointing office-bearers all over the country and deciding about candidates for the next general elections. He will present his first policy paper on energy at the energy conference to be organised by his party on February 26.