LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday blamed the western media for its failure to give due credit to Pakistan during the Afghan war.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the annual Margalla Dialogue, Khan stated that Pakistan was held responsible for the shortcomings of the United States.
He further stated that while it was the United States that made mistakes in Afghanistan but Pakistan had to bear the brunt of the situation.
The PM went on to say that throughout the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan had to witness the biggest collateral damage as it was the only US ally that suffered more than 80,000 casualties, displacement of millions of people, and a loss of over $100 billion.
“The inability of the national leadership to handle the Afghan situation wisely landed the country into two main pro and anti-America divisions,” he said.
The premier further criticised the Western media and said that instead of giving Pakistan its due credit for the sacrifices it made, the country was accused of playing “a double game” and its reputation was maligned internationally.
The prime minister said Pakistan was blamed for wrong reasons by the international community, whereas it remained mum on the atrocities committed by New Delhi in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The PM further shed light on other matters too and said that uplifting the underprivileged segments of the society was critical to ensuring across-the-board national security.
He stressed that rule of law and equality for all were the preconditions for democracy and regretted that Pakistan had suffered an inequality due to three simultaneous educational systems, namely English and Urdu medium schools, and the madrassas.
The premier further stated that said lack of in-depth research led to reliance on second-hand information by the western think tanks on important issues such as Afghanistan.
He said the role of local think-tanks in this situation was important to effectively highlight Pakistan’s perspective in the world rather than being under continuous criticism by the western lobbies.
The premier also pointed out that differences in educational standards of the systems resulted in three different kinds of generations with discrimination in opportunities of jobs.
“Corruption, particularly of the elite, was detrimental to the development of a country,” he said, adding that Pakistani scholars and academics need to invest in research and development as research leads to original thinking within a society.
“You have to define yourself instead of letting others define you,” he said.
