Imran Khan avers Pakistan's 'future tied to Russia', refuses to condemn war in Ukraine

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the country's future is tied to Russia and refused to condemn the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, in an exclusive interview with Deutsche Welle, Khan reiterated his stance of being against military solutions and said that he was against the war. The former leader of Pakistan also said that he considered war to be the precursor of additional problems such as it was in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

In the interview, when Khan was asked why he was referring to condemning the Russia-Ukraine war, he said that while it was good to take a moral stand on global issues, it should not be at the cost of consequential suffering to the people. He said that as the premier of the nation, he was only willing to look after the interest of the people. Khan added that Pakistan can benefit from Russian imports of gas, oil and wheat for its people. 

Furthermore, Khan elaborated that when he was not the premier of Pakistan, he had the liberty to voice his opinion on matters such as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He denounced the wars in the Middle East.

“Pakistan’s future is tied up with Russia in terms of gas, oil and specifically wheat because we have to import wheat from Russia because of 220 million population. When you start condemning people you are taking sides,” the former PM told DW.

“Taking a moral stand on international issues is very good but when your country stands to suffer as a result of it, you have to have the luxury to be strong and rich enough to start taking sides,” he added.

Khan weighed in on his Moscow trip in February

Imran Khan also elaborated on his trip to Moscow in February, when Russia was building up an army on its border with Ukraine and had already triggered concerns in the West. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special” military operation in Ukraine to “de-nazify” the former Soviet Union nation. The former Pakistan PM had said that he was scheduled to meet the Kremlin leader the next morning but he woke up to see the invasion in full swing. Khan also refused to know about the matter. He said that he would have not gone ahead with his Russia trip had he known about the possibility of war starting at the same time.

“When I arrived in Moscow, the meeting was the next morning. When we woke up in the morning that’s when the invasion took place. … Hardly did I know this would happen. Had I known, I certainly wouldn’t have taken the trip,” he said.

Image: AP