Davos: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed he met with a "brick wall" when he approached his counterpart Narendra Modi with a peace proposal soon after assuming office.
In an interview to Foreign Policy magazine on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum here, Khan said he had told Modi that Pakistan will act firmly if it was given evidence of any Pakistani involvement in the Pulwama terror attack, but India instead "bombed" Pakistan.
Tensions have escalated between the two neighbours following India withdrawing special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Since then, Khan has been trying to seek global intervention to de-escalate the tensions.
On Thursday, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar categorically ruled out any third-party role in the Kashmir issue, asserting any issue between the two countries should be resolved bilaterally.
In the interview, Khan said he is a firm believer that military means are not a solution to ending conflicts.
"After taking office, I immediately reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I was amazed by the reaction I got, which was quite weird. The subcontinent hosts the greatest number of poor people in the world, and the best way to fight poverty is to have a trading relationship between the two countries rather than spending money on arms. This is what I said to the Indian prime minister. But I was met by a brick wall," he said.
Khan took over the prime ministership in August 2018.
Referring to the suicide attack in Pulwama, Khan said he had immediately told Modi that "if you can give us any actionable intelligence (that Pakistanis were involved), we will act on it. But rather than do so, they bombed us".
While noting that both countries are not close to conflict right now, Khan said it is important that the UN and the US act.
When asked about US President Donald Trump having a very close relationship with Modi, Khan said the relationship is understandable because India is a huge market and every country would like the benefits.
"My concern is not about the US-India relationship. My concern is the direction in which India is going," Khan said.
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