'Anyone who understood Afghanistan's history would never have done what Americans did'

• PM Imran Khan says US was unclear on Afghan mission.
• Says situation in Xinjiang different from Western portrayal.
  
• Prime Minister says better sense should prevail in India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday lashed out at the United States as he said anyone who understood the history of Afghanistan would never have done what the Americans did.

In an interview with Director of the Advisory Committee of China Institute of Fudan University Dr Eric Li, the prime minister stressed he was of the opinion from day one that the United States would not succeed militarily in Afghanistan.

“They (Americans) were never clear on what they were trying to achieve in Afghanistan. Was it nation-building; was it democracy; was it liberating the Afghan women? They had no clear aims,” the premier said.

PM Imran Khan said the US mission in Afghanistan should have been over once they killed former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. “So what they were doing after that, none of the Americans knew.”

The prime minister noted when the aim of a mission is unclear, it ultimately leads to “failure”, as in the case of the US invasion of Afghanistan for the “war on terror”.

PM Imran Khan has been vocal in support of Afghanistan as he seeks to unfreeze the Taliban-run country’s assets which were frozen after the ousting of the Ashraf Ghani-led government.

The premier has also repeatedly criticised the United States for its handling of the Afghan situation. “I think the US has really messed it up in Afghanistan,” he said during an interview last year, a few days before the fall of Kabul.

PM Imran Khan said the entire US mission was based on a “false premise”. But now, he said, the Americans are unable to differentiate between the general population and the Taliban, thus forcing the country towards a potential humanitarian crisis.

“If there is chaos in Afghanistan and the Taliban government gets weaker, it cannot take on international terrorist organisations,” he said. 

‘Pakistan may replicate 1970s role’

Talking about China-US relations, the prime minister said the world does want another cold war. He said Pakistan may replicate the role it played in 1970 when it brought China and the US together.

PM Imran Khan stressed Pakistan did not want part in any conflict, rather than getting caught up in any new rival blocks, as it did in the past.

He said joining the “war on terror” and the corruption of the past rulers badly affected Pakistan. PM Imran Khan highlighted that the country lost about 80,000 people and over $100 billion in the war.

Uighurs’ situation

When asked about the Western concerns on the situation in the Chinese province Xinjiang, the prime minister said Pakistan’s ambassador in China visited the area and the report he gave back was different from the one that is coming from the western media.

Read more: PM Imran Khan slams West's 'selective silence' on Kashmir situation

He said what is being told by the western media “does not exist against Uighurs”.

He said according to the envoy's report, unprecedented development is taking place in Xinjiang.

CPEC

PM Imran Khan also invited other countries to join and invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, emphasising the government's foremost priority is geo-economics and to uplift the economy.

He lamented the Western countries raising suspicion on the corridor project and said it made “no sense”.

Read more: PM Imran Khan touches down in Islamabad after concluding 'successful' China visit

The prime minister said Pakistan sees CPEC and Gwadar project as a great opportunity for its geo-economics. “My priority is the 220 million of Pakistan,” he stressed.

PM Imran Khan said both Pakistan and China have always stood by each other in difficult times and this all-weather relationship has transformed into a people to people friendship.

India

Responding to a question about Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister lamented that India is denying the right of self-determination to Kashmiri people guaranteed by the UN Security Council resolutions.

Read more: Pakistan deplores 'reprehensible' act of banning students' hijab in Karnataka

The premier criticised the BJP-led Indian government for marginalisation of minorities, including Muslims, and termed it a tragedy for the Indian nation.

He said better sense should prevail in India otherwise, it is only going to damage itself.