Imran Khan says no educated Muslim in Pak can support Taliban

Washington, Aug 10 (ANI): Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said that no educated Muslim in his country could possibly support the Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban) or their 'narrow interpretation' of Islam.

Addressing press persons during his visit to Washington to raise funds for his charitable causes, Imran said that in the 1400 years of Islamic history, "no Islamic state had been run on the basis of theocracy".

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He denied that there was any reactionary movement in Pakistan as represented by the Taliban and called the recent reports of Peshawar under threat of being taken over by religious radical groups as "absurd", reported the Daily Times.

"What was called radicalisation was actually political extremism," he said adding that the more the Tribal Areas were bombed, the larger the number of those fighting back became.

Imran said the answer for removing the Taliban from tribal areas lay in dialogue and not in "blind bombing" of mostly civilian populations living in the area.

The PTI chairman termed the Government's possible impeachment move against President Pervez Musharraf as a "smokescreen", and said that PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari was hand-in-glove with Musharraf.

Imran said he did not think Musharraf would be willing to make a graceful exit by offering to resign. He called the threats of martial law being thrown around or Article 58(2b) being imposed as pure bluff. (ANI)