Analyst Nazir Leghari has alleged that PTI chief Imran Khan had a soft corner for the extremists and would oppose operations against them.

“Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s views are similar to those of former COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, when he said that we made a mistake by participating in the Afghan War 40 years ago, while Khan would give space to those with extremist point-of-view. He had a soft corner for them [extremists],” he added.

Lehgari was speaking with Shaukat Piracha on the Aaj News programme Rubaroo, where the issue of terrorism took centre stage as the defence minister retaliated on Friday against the joint statement of US-India.

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly demanded Pakistan take steps to make sure that its soil was not being used in “launching terror attacks”.

“They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the 58-point statement issued by the White House read.

Asif hit back at the US-India statement, saying Biden should “consider facts the next time he fetes the butcher of Gujarat”. He noted it was “ironic” that the statement was issued during the visit of “someone who was banned entry to the US for overseeing a pogrom of Muslims when he was CM Gujarat.”

Pakistan should diplomatically respond to the joint statement of Biden-Modi, said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency president.

“If we show grievance, it will mean that we are not in touch with the realities. At one point, we were very close to the US. The relationships between states change according to conditions,” he added.

Journalist Mazhar Abbas, another guest on the show, said that the world saw Pakistan as a “victim of your own creation”.

“Historically, many political parties of Pakistan supported the first Afghan war, and the state was also fighting the war by calling it the Jihad-e-Afghanistan. In that war, we opened our doors to thousands of Afghan and Arab Mujahideen,” he added.

The PTI chief’s statements about the alleged human violations were also discussed during the show and its possible effects on the government’s efforts to secure aid for the flood victims.

Abbas said that the biggest challenge for Pakistan was the heated political conditions. “We need elections, after which an elected government will deal with the world about the flood victims.”

“The world will take Pakistan seriously if it sees that an elected government is in power and the political stability returned to the country,” he added.

PPP, PML-N alliance

For Leghari, the PML-N and the PPP would remain together till the end of the coalition government’s tenure despite a perception that the Sindh-ruling was leaving the ruling alliance.

“Zardari had to clear the air as the perception was getting stronger that differences were mounting between the coalition partners,” he said, “it is essential that the elections are held on time. A delay in the election will do no good to the country and its progress.”