Prime Minister Imran Khan asked on Sunday if the international community would stand by as Indian Hindu nationalism spread into Muslim-majority Kashmir, saying it was the same as appeasing Hitler.
His outrage on Twitter came as tensions simmered between the two countries over the region after New Delhi last week rescinded years of autonomy enjoyed by the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) and gave full control to the Indian government.
Kashmir has been under virtual lockdown since shortly before the move, with a curfew across the region, and phone and internet lines cut – ostensibly to prevent unrest.
Huge numbers of troops are patrolling the streets of major centres, and security forces used tear gas on Friday to break up a demonstration by about 8,000 people against the government’s move.
Imran tweeted that the “ideology of Hindu Supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop” in Kashmir.
Describing the move as “the Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler’s Lebensraum”, he said it would lead to “the suppression of Muslims in India & eventually lead to targeting of Pakistan”.
“Attempt is to change demography of Kashmir through ethnic cleansing,” he tweeted. “Question is: Will the world watch & appease as they did Hitler at Munich?”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted last week the decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy was necessary for its economic development and also to stop “terrorism”.
He said with Kashmir now fully part of the Indian union, the region would enjoy more jobs and less corruption and red-tape, adding key infrastructure projects would be expedited.
Previously, under its constitutional autonomy, Kashmiris enjoyed special privileges such as the sole right to own land and take government jobs or university scholarships. Islamabad has been infuriated by New Delhi’s moves and has expelled the Indian ambassador, halted what little bilateral trade exists and suspended cross-border transport services.
Meanwhile, Pakistan asked the United Nations Security Council to summon a session on the deteriorating situation in IHK, after India revoked its special status.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote a letter to the UNSC president, asking that the Indian act, which is unconstitutional and against the conventions of the United Nations, should be discussed in a session.
The foreign minister stated that if India continues the acts of aggression then Pakistan will not stay silent.
“We are willing to go to any lengths for our defence,” mentioned the foreign minister, adding that the events of February 2018 stand as a testimony to his statement.
The FM had earlier announced that Pakistan would approach the UNSC over India’s move to revoke Article 370.
During a news conference, Qureshi said he had conveyed to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar that New Delhi’s stance of revoking Article 370 being an internal matter had been dismissed by Islamabad. “I said this was not right and Pakistan dismisses this stance. Occupied Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute. There are several UNSC resolutions on this and making those as the basis we have decided to once again go to the UNSC.”
Meanwhile, Qureshi on Monday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for the people of IHK suffering Indian atrocities, and said the country was fighting for the cause of Kashmiris at every platform.
Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, where he arrived late Sunday to spend the first day of Eidul Azha in solidarity with Kashmiris, he said the freedom struggle of Kashmiris had reached a crucial turning point.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan in his wider outreach efforts had contacted world leaders, including those of Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia, to apprise them of the unilateral step taken by India to change the status of IHK.
The foreign minister said the Kashmir issue had been recognised as disputed internationally, and it was a common cause which should be above politics and other interests.
He said Pakistan had decided to take the issue of Kashmir again to the UN Security Council, and that China had assured to extend full support for this purpose.