Within hours of holding a mammoth rally in Lahore, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief (PTI) Imran Khan flew off to Beijing on the invitation from the Chinese Communist Party—a sign that he’s ‘arrived’. From there, he took time off to respond to Mariana Baabar.
How do you hope to bring a change when even larger parties find it a daunting task?
Larger parties are the problem since their leaders have undisclosed assets, properties and money stashed abroad. Collecting revenues, cutting expenditure and ending corruption are the means we will use for bringing a positive change and fixing the economy. Today, Pakistan has a deficit of Rs 1 trillion, and corruption and tax evasion has caused a loss of Rs 3 trillion. So, by ending the latter, the problem of deficit can be resolved easily.
What’s your secret weapon to attract people to the PTI?
Credibility and trust, especially on financial matters. I’m the only politician the Pakistani people trust their money with. Therefore, I can also be trusted to balance the budget.
But crowds do not mean votes in the ballot box.
Remember, in Bhutto’s case they became votes. This movement of the PTI is similar. The crowds will translate into votes. They braved dengue to come to the rally. Which reflects a commitment to the party in terms of votes.
What is your party’s India policy? Do you favour the Most Favoured Nation status for India?
Mutual trust must be the basis of an improved Pakistan-India relationship, central to which has to be the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. India must learn from Pakistan, the old Soviet Union and the US that military operations always fail in the battle for hearts and minds. Most of all, India must learn from its own continuing failed military operations in Occupied Kashmir. There has to be an end to the role of RAW and ISI in each other’s countries. Trade and MNF are positive factors but these must be negotiated on a mutually acceptable basis, including simultaneous removal of non-tariff barriers.
Pundits say you will not get enough seats to form a government. How will you compromise with your political foes to achieve that?
Pundits were writing us off six months ago and said we could not fill the Minar-e-Pakistan venue. We filled it to capacity and beyond. Today, we are the most popular party and our graph keeps climbing, as the gap between us and the other parties narrows. Pundits have not realised that Pakistan has changed. The media has changed Pakistan and we now have the most politically aware youth in our history since the nation’s creation. There will be no compromises with corrupt politicians and parties.
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