Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview with
Al-Jazeera, said that Pakistan’s economic future is now linked to China. He
further mentioned that the ‘bilateral relations between Pakistan and China are
better than before’.

Substantiating his statement, he said, compared
to any other country in the world, China’s economic growth rate is faster and Pakistan
can benefit from it.

“Our relationship with China is better than ever before. For
us, the way we look at it from Pakistan, our economic future is now linked to
China. China is growing at a faster pace than any other country and Pakistan
can really benefit from the way China has developed. The way it has lifted
people out of poverty,” PM Khan said.

Talking about Pakistan’s relationship with the United
States, Khan said, “We probably have the best relationship with the United States right
now because we are partners in peace in Afghanistan. We did not have such a
good relationship a few years back. We have a very good relationship right now. I
do not see why it is either China or the United States.”

India, on August 5, abrogated the special status given to
Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in nation-wide protests. Talking about this
incident, Pakistan PM said that he has never believed in military situations.

“I do not believe in military solutions. I have never believed
in military solutions. The moment I became the prime minister, I extended a
hand of friendship to India but the tragedy of India is, India is being ruled
by an extremist. It is an extremist government. It is a Hindu supremacist
government, inspired by the ideologies of the Nazis. All I am saying is, look
at the history of the RSS which basically is ruling India now. RSS was thrice
outlawed in India as a terrorist organization. They now control 1.3 billion
people. That’s the tragedy.

When asked is Pakistan has been abandoned by Western allies,
Khan said, “Kashmir is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, since
70 years. Now, this disputed territory on August 5, last year was taken over by
India, by brute force. About 8 million people in Kashmir in an open prison and
800 thousand India troops in the valley who are now oppressing them.”

He further said other nations are not responding to the
human rights violation because countries are worried about their commercial
interests.

“We have knocked on all doors and we will keep doing
so. I have spoken at the United Nations and to heads of states. This is an
extreme injustice, not just for the people of Kashmir, if this escalates and
breaks out into a conflict between Pakistan and India, this has implications
for the rest of the world.”