Peace overtures should not be mistaken as desperation: PM tells India

I tried to reach out to India from the very first day of my term, says Premier Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan has sent a clear message to the government in New Delhi that Pakistan's overtures for peace should not be misconstrued as desperation.

The premier was speaking to journalists from Indian news outlet The Hindu at the PM House on Thursday.

PM Imran said that his government has reached out to India ever since he assumed his office.

Pak PM: #Kartarpur corridor received very positively in #Pakistan. There is a consensus in Pakistan for peace, don't think of it as desperation for peace | @suhasinih

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) November 29, 2018

He, however, said that the response given by the Modi government after Islamabad requested a meeting with India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting had forced them to wait for Indian elections to end before seeking further engagement.

Pak PM #ImranKhan: I tried to reach out to India from the very first day of my term. But I got a bad response when the meeting at the UN was cancelled. We decided that we could wait for a response until elections in India. | @suhasinih

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) November 29, 2018

When asked about claims that Pakistani soil was being used to carry out terrorist attacks in foreign lands, Premier Imran said that it is not in Pakistan's interest that its soil be used for terrorism against others.



"I can't be held responsible for the past, hold me to account if I break my promises now," he said.

Pakistan PM #ImranKhan to Indian journalists: It is not in Pakistan's interest that our soil be used for terrorism against others. I can't be held responsible for the past, hold me to account if I break my promises | @suhasinih

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) November 29, 2018

Speaking on the Kartarpur border corridor groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, the prime minister had said that the move had received positively in Pakistan. "There's a consensus in Pakistan that peace is the way forward."

Pak PM: #Kartarpur corridor received very positively in #Pakistan. There is a consensus in Pakistan for peace, don't think of it as desperation for peace | @suhasinih

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) November 29, 2018