No country with begging bowl can become great nation: Pakistan PM

Failing to address the question of the simmering border situation with Afghanistan following the US troops withdrawal, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday, during an election rally in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), choose to target India rather than addressing the major concerns of the International community of acting against the UN-designated terrorist organizations operating from its territory.

Addressing a public meeting in the PoK's Bagh area, ahead of elections in PoK, Khan made special mention of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and his concerns regarding the group's ideology, despite its absence in electoral politics in India.

He criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as he called himself the "brand ambassador of Kashmiris" on all international forums, Ary News reported.

This attack on PM Modi and India comes a few days after Khan had evaded questions on its role concerning the Taliban's actions in Afghanistan and sought to put blame on "RSS ideology" for the talks stalled with India amid concerns over its support to cross-border terrorism.

Khan, who was in Tashkent to attend the Central-South Asian conference, was asked byon the sidelines of the event if talks and terror can go together. "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," Khan told ANI.

On Friday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had lambasted Pakistan for its ties with terrorist organizations groups and said that according to intelligence reports over 10,000 'jihadi' fighters had entered Afghanistan in the last month. Ghani even said Imran Khan's Pakistan had failed to convince the Taliban to "negotiate seriously" in the ongoing peace talks.

At the Central and South Asia connectivity conference, Ghani also asked Pakistan to use its "influence and leverage for peace and cessation of hostilities" amid an increase in violence by the Taliban.

Fresh from the Tashkent conference, where Khan was castigated by Ghani, Pakistan PM steered clear of the crisis situation at the next-door neighbour, during his election rally in the Bagh area. Furthermore, Khan failed to address the recent incidents of domestic terrorism including the Lahore blast and the one in the Upper Kohistan district, in which Chinese engineers were killed.

Without addressing the accusations that have been levelled by the International community of Pakistan providing continuous support to the Taliban, Khan said that he was waging a "holy war" for the future of Pakistan's younger generations by bringing the powerful under the legal net.

The United States continues to urge Pakistan to take decisive and irreversible action against the banned terror groups. Pending this action, the United States suspended security assistance to Pakistan in January 2018, with certain narrow exceptions for US national security interests. The United States has been one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment in Pakistan.

Diverting from the main issues of rising inflation and crippling economy, Pakistan PM, during his speech, admitted that previous governments had always looked for either aid or loans and had never tried to stand on their own feet. "No country with a begging bowl can become a great nation," Khan was quoted as saying by Dawn.

( With inputs from ANI )