New Delhi: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has said that efforts were on in 2019 to work out a peace plan with India which could have also led to the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pakistan.
Speaking to the US-based think tank Atlantic Council on June 19, the former premier said that the proposed plan had the backing of Pakistan’s former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
“Look, I don’t remember the trade talks. All I know is that there was supposed to be a quid pro quo. India was supposed to give some concession, give some sort of a roadmap to Kashmir, and I was going to then host Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi in Pakistan. But it never materialised. So, it never went further than that. That’s how it was,” he said.
Khan confirmed that the Pakistani side wanted to go ahead with the proposed peace plan despite India’s decision to dilute Article 370 and revoke the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. However, it should be noted that Pakistan continues to protest the changes effected by the Indian government in Jammu and Kashmir.
This is not the first time news emerged of a peace plan being worked out in the background by India and Pakistan, and Pakistan’s plans to host Modi. In April, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said that General Bajwa, during a press briefing, told journalists that he had “struck” a deal with India on Kashmir and that Prime Minister Modi would visit Pakistan. If things unfolded as planned, Mir claimed that Modi would have travelled to the historic Hinglaj temple in Pakistan in 2021. The proposal was a result of backchannel talks which had led to the announcement of observation of a ceasefire at the Line of Control in February 2021. However, the plan eventually fell through.
Also read: Was PM Modi to Visit Pakistan in April 2021? Here’s What Pakistani Journalists Have Been Saying.
Khan sought to explain why the peace plan did not materialise when asked about it by the interviewer. It is to be noted that Khan – who also held the commerce portfolio whilst he was prime minister – accepted the recommendations of the Cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) which favoured the limited resumption of trade ties with India in March 2021 as commerce minister. However, in an interesting turn, within six days, the same Khan as prime minister rejected the proposals in favour of trade ties with India. Even though Khan went back on proposals calling for normalisation of ties with India, General Bajwa continued to root for it. Khan served as prime minister between August 2018 and April 2022 whilst General Bajwa occupied the office between November 2016 and November 2022.
“Suddenly, on 5th August 2019, India unilaterally got rid of that treaty and the UN resolutions and took away the statehood. What were we supposed to do? A hundred thousand Kashmiris have been martyred in their quest for independence, and so what was Pakistan supposed to do? Accept the fait accompli? Or actually, stand with the people of Kashmir who had given such sacrifices? So that’s what we decided. And by the way, I tried my best before then to improve our relationship with India. In fact, my first statement was, ‘You come one step towards us, we’ll come two towards you’. I mean, I tried everything, but I came across this brick wall, and I realised it’s something to do with the RSS-BJP mentality where they’ve cashed in on hostility with Pakistan. That’s all…,” he explained.
The former prime minister also went on to add that “it was that first India would give some concession, then we would invite them to Pakistan”. “The concession was that they would gradually take steps that would undo what they had done on August 5 [2019]. But that never happened. So, we had never moved forward,” he added.
In the aftermath of the August 2019 Kashmir decision by India, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with India over the change in Kashmir’s status and decided not to post a high commissioner in New Delhi.
There is no comment yet from the Indian side on Khan’s remarks.
The former prime minister also responded to General Bajwa’s reported comments that Pakistan is not equipped to fight a war with India. He said General Bajwa had shared the same view with him too. “Look, even if that was the case, for an army chief to make these statement is so ridiculous. What army chief makes these foolish statements even if it is the case?” he said.
He also went on to add, “So, number one, yes, General Bajwa would make these statements, but I mean for an army chief, he is basically saying, ‘We are just too weak.’ You never make such a statement. But more to the point, who wants war with India? I mean, why would we want war with India? Why would anyone want to see a confrontation between the two countries?”
Relations between Khan and General Bajwa have been sour since the military stopped backing the former’s government, which led to his ousting in April 2022 in a parliamentary vote of confidence. Relations have soured further after supporters of Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf attacked military infrastructure and establishment after the former prime minister was arrested in early May.