Imran Khan’s new Pakistan plays old game

In a six-minute video message, Imran Khan’s tone and language was seen in New Delhi as quite unusual for a democratically elected leader in Pakistan in the recent past.

In his first statement five days after 40 CRPF men were killed in a terror attack in Pulwama, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday warned that Pakistan will “retaliate” if India launches attacks to avenge the February 14 strike.

In a six-minute video message, Khan’s tone and language was seen in New Delhi as quite unusual for a democratically elected leader in Pakistan in the recent past. Neither did he condemn the single bloodiest attack in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three decades of militancy nor did he mention Jaish-e-Mohammad or its chief Maulana Masood Azhar by name.

This despite the fact that the Jaish claimed responsibility after a vehicle, driven by local resident Adil Dar, rammed into a CRPF bus killing 40 security personnel. You can read the full text of Imran Khan’s speech here.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who called Khan’s comments as a “diversionary statement”, said, “Pakistan’s land has been used for this terror, as it has been happening earlier, which is why there is not trust or acceptance of Pakistan’s stand in the entire global community.”

Explained: Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s Pulwama terror attack statement is an echo of its Army’s line on terror

In a prepared statement on Pakistan Television, Khan said that Pakistan was ready to co-operate in the Indian investigation and will take action, if Delhi provides any “actionable intelligence”. He proposed a dialogue to discuss terrorism and raised the issue of Kashmir, something which has been part of every Pakistan leader’s playbook in the recent years.