New Delhi: Amid concerns over its support to cross-border terrorism, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday (July 16, 2021) blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology for the stalled talks between Pakistan and India.
On being asked if talks and terror can go together, the Pakistani PM told ANI, "I can tell India that we are waiting for long that we live like civilised neighbours. But what can we do? The ideology of RSS has come in the way."
#WATCH Pakistan PM Imran Khan answers ANI question, 'can talks and terror go hand in hand?'. Later he evades the question on whether Pakistan is controlling the Taliban.
Khan is participating in the Central-South Asia conference, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan pic.twitter.com/TYvDO8qTxk
— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2021
Meanwhile, RSS leader Indresh Kumar has hit out at Imran Khan and said that the 'toxic ideology' of the Pakistan leadership had led to the division of the country in 1971. Kumar further added that the leadership of the neighbouring country had a 'toxic nature' and the country had 'poisonous and bloody' circumstances of its birth.
"The leadership of Pakistan and the country itself are born out of bloodshed and toxic spirit. It was born out of India being divided brutally in 1947, displacement of three crore people and death and killing of 12 lakh people. Lakhs of women were also raped. Not just that, it is also a symbol of atrocities and torture in their own country," he said.
"Sindh and Balochistan are burning today, and actions of Pakistan leadership has led piles of corpses there. They all want freedom. In the same way, its toxic ideology had led to the division of Pakistan in 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh," Kumar added.
Imran Khan's remarks came as India is repeatedly telling Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorist networks.
India had recently said that Pakistan, as its state policy, continues to provide pensions to dreaded and listed terrorists and hosts them on its territory.
"It is high time that Pakistan is held accountable for aiding and abetting terrorism," India had said during the 47th session of the Human Rights Council on June 22.
On July 2, India had also called upon Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorist networks and asked the neighbouring country to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice.
This is to be noted that talks between the two countries have been stalled after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016.
(With ANI inputs)
