Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and George Soros had a meeting in New York this week. Khan traveled to the U.S. to participate in the United Nations General Assembly and met with Soros and a number of U.S. lawmakers during the trip. Among the topics discussed were education, Afghanistan and the Kashmir dispute with India.
Imran Khan and George Soros hold a meeting
Multiple news outlets are reporting about Imran Khan and George Soros’ meeting. Khan told reporters on Sunday that a delegation from George Soros’ Open Societies Foundation met with him. According to Dunya News, they discussed their education projects in Afghanistan and expressed interest in helping Pakistan improve the quality of its education systems.
Aside from education, the team from George Soros’ nonprofit organization also discussed taxation. Khan’s government wants to improve tax reforms in Pakistan and make the tax collection process more transparent. Soros’ team reportedly plans to visit the South Asian nation soon to discuss its taxation process.
Soros’ net worth stood at $8 billion as of 2018. He is widely known for his philanthropic efforts, and according to Dawn, he has donated over $32 billion to his Open Society Foundations.
ARY News reports that Khan also met with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. State Department’s Afghanistan Reconciliation representative. Dawn reports that he also met with U.S. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Khan discusses Afghanistan and Kashmir
The Pakistani government issued a number of tweets explaining everything he talked about during his meetings with U.S. officials and other dignitaries. Khan again expressed Pakistan’s desire for peace in Afghanistan, adding that he remains fully committed to working with the U.S. to reach a political settlement there. Graham expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s support in the quest for peace in Afghanistan.
Graham has also taken an interest in Kashmir. India revoked the special status of its part of the disputed region, enacting a curfew, communications blackout and many other restrictions along with the revocation. India has said it’s trying to get things back to normal there, but reports have suggested that tensions there continue.
During their meeting, Naidoo and Khan also discussed India-administered Kashmir. Naidoo said Amnesty International has been met with difficulties when trying to carry out their work there. He said AI has had to go to the courts every other day to request permission to continue their work in Kashmir. Khan expressed appreciation over the role Amnesty has been playing in drawing attention to human rights in Kashmir as the lockdown drags out seven weeks. He also praised the agency’s report on Indian authorities’ use of pellet guns against Kashmiris and the effect they have had on youth in the disputed region
