PM Imran's Modi 'win' statement taken out of context: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement in which he reportedly said he saw a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party wins the general elections was taken out of context.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Thursday. He was responding to questions put to him by members of the panel.

“I am familiar with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s standpoint about Modi,” he said, adding the premier’s statements about Modi’s past were on record.

He said PM Khan’s statements referring to the Indian prime minister’s links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – a terrorist organisation – were also available.

“You are saying Imran Khan is not Modi’s friend,” asked Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who chaired the meeting.

“We are neither anybody’s friend nor helper,” replied FM Qureshi.

Some media reports had quoted the prime minister as saying, “Perhaps if the BJP – a right-wing party – wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached.”

The foreign minister further said it was for the people of India to decide who will win the general elections there.

Senator Sitara Ayaz, however, suggested a clarification should have come from the PM Office in this regard.

Taking exception to the prime minister’s statement, senator Sherry Rehman said the purpose of his statement was beyond her comprehension.

She said the Indian prime minister was involved in the killings of Kashmiris over the past five years and the entire world called him Gujrat’s killer.

“You say that India may attack Pakistan while your prime minister says the situation will get better if Modi wins elections,” she said addressing the foreign minister.