'Is Pak your slave or Did you write to India?': Imran Khan questions West for asking to condemn Russia

Islamabad, Mar 7: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan lashed out at the European Union for asking Pakistan to vote against Russia during the recently held special session of the UN General Assembly, asking if they considered Islamabad their "slave".

 

 

Addressing a public rally in Punjab province's Vehari district, Imran Khan said Pakistan is not the West's slave in reply to the joint letter issued by the heads of 22 diplomatic missions in which Pakistan was urged to support a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly condemning Russia. "I want to ask the European Union ambassadors: Did you write such a letter to India?" Imran Khan said.

 

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that "demands" Russia "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine. But Pakistan was among the few countries that abstained from taking part in voting against the resolution. Imran Khan said that Pakistan would not support any country in war, but they would 'take a step ahead in backing everyone yearning for peace'.

 

 

"We have friendships with the United States, Russia, China and Europe. We are not in any camp. Since we are neutral, we will try to collaborate with these countries to endeavour for an end to this war in Ukraine," he said He also warned the Pakistan opposition to prepare for the consequences if the no-confidence motion against him failed.

 

 

On March 1, the heads of various foreign missions in Pakistan, including Germany and France, wrote a joint letter recalling the February 25 UNSC resolution. The move to release the letter publicly was rare, according to diplomats.

 

The letter, signed by the ambassadors of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Japan, Norway and Switzerland as well as the head of the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan, said the resolution was aimed at reaffirming the commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and would have deplored in the strongest terms Russia´s aggression against Ukraine.

 

 

Imran Khan's visit to Moscow when Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised the special military operation on Ukraine had received backlash. This was followed by Pakistan's abstention on the UNGA resolution.