PM Kakar urges India to keep politics away from sports

• Pakistan would've issued visas to Indians, PM says.
• PM Kakar wishes for Green Shirts to bring laurels.
• Pakistan did not recognise Israel, premier clarifies.

ISLAMABAD: As India continues to delay visa issuance to Pakistani fans and journalists anticipating attendance at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar stressed keeping politics away from sports.

“We would have issued visas to Indians if the World Cup was held in Pakistan," the premier said.

Sports, he added, should be kept aloof from politics.

The prime minister, in an interview on a YouTube channel 'Talk Shock', said there was no practical proposal to visit India in this regard.

He also wished for the Green Shirts to bring laurels to the country, like every Pakistani.

Commenting on ties with India, the premier said Pakistan wanted normal relations with all its neighbours but with regard to India, there were three parties, including Kashmiris.

Their demands and aspirations should be met by India and if they were not made part of the normalisation process with regard to bilateral ties by the Indian government, it would amount to a "non-starter".

Speaking about the civil-military leadership equation in Pakistan, the prime minister said the Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir believes in civilian supremacy.

'Solidarity for Palestine'

As the situation in Palestine and Israel intensified, PM Kakar suggested a two-state solution to end the decades-long suffering of Palestinians.

The premier extended solidarity towards the people of Palestine on behalf of Pakistan, assuring to talk about their rights by utilising all multilateral forums such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Through this, he added, Pakistan will be able to spur a collective stance to ensure the protection and dignity of Palestinians while aligning and supporting their demands.

Pakistan, PM Kakar said, has always taken a firm stance on the Palestine issue and reaffirmed its position as its "friend".

He said that Pakistan would continue extending diplomatic, social and political support to them at all global fora. The premier stressed two nations’ state was the key to resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict, which would bring stability to the Middle East.

He also categorically reiterated that Pakistan did not recognise Israel. Palestinians had reached an agreement with Israel over the two-state mechanism, but the due right was constantly denied by Israel, he added.

The caretaker prime minister cautioned that unless ‘the Palestine Question’ was addressed, the issue of radicalisation would increase and stressed that the two political issues, Palestine and Kashmir, should be resolved.

On the question of the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan before the election, the prime minister said that not the government, but rather the court is to take a decision on Imran’s release.