Exclusive: Disappointed with Modi, but he is changing, says Imran Khan

One of the most interesting and intriguing politicians from Pakistan is the country's former World Cup winning captain and now a major leader of opposition Imran Khan. In 2011-12, leading million-man marches, he was thought to be Pakistan's future of democracy. In 2013, many thought he would sweep the elections. In 2014, some thought that he could even bring down the government. None of that happened, but Imran Khan remains very popular with Pakistan's young population and also with its urban citizens. Today when even though many believe that his political fortunes could be sliding, he could easily quickly reverse and rise once again.
The leading politician from Pakistan was hosted by Karan Thapar on his To The Point.

Here are some highlights from the interview

1. The recent talks have been "very positive. On both sides of the border. Should welcome it because one thing we need in this subcontinent is peace. Peace follows everything else trade, prosperity and above all reduction in poverty. It was quite disconcerting for us in the beginning when the stand-off took place. Now things are looking good."
2. On the criticism of the accord between India and Pakistan by Shireen Mazari, one of Khan's closest advisors on foreign affairs, he said: "Shireen is an expert on foreign policy. She's my spokesperson on information, but not my advisor on foreign policy. She might criticise aspects of the talk, but no one criticises the fact that the dialogue should resume."
3. "When I said that the two leaders (Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi) lacked leadership, I meant why have secret talks in Kathmandu. Perhaps Narendra Modi was worried about his own right-wing constituency and Nawaz was worried about the establishment. My point was that leaders do not worry about these things. They get inspired people on board towards greater vision. The vision is peace in the subcontinent and eradicate poverty."
4. On Narendra Modi's seriousness and sincerity to resolve the problems: "To be honest, I thought that just like Vajpayee, he represented BJP, was scared when he came into power. In Pakistan we thought the distance between the two countries would increase. But in fact, Vajpayee reached out to Pakistan and paid a visit there and took everyone by surprise. He was the one who started the peace process. With Modi, I was a bit disappointed. In the beginning, I thought that he had a huge majority, and this was a great time to be a statesman. He was in a great position to bring the countries together. I was a bit disappointed. But people change, they learn."
5. The current peace process "is a positive move because we thought the distances wouldn't get closer. This movement in the last few weeks give us hope" that Narendra Modi is changing.
6. "Even if Kashmir is kept in a different package of the peace talk, you cannot take away the importance of Kashmir, because Kashmir is the sticking point. Sooner or later it has to be resolved."