Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unshakeable political, diplomatic and moral support and solidarity with the Kashmiri people until the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination.

The prime minister stated this while chairing a high-level meeting which reviewed all aspects of the situation in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK). The meeting was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Moeed Yousaf, Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and other senior military and civilian officials.

The participants condemned India’s inhuman lockdown of eight million Kashmiris for over 165 days, grave human rights violations of Kashmiris by over 900,000 Indian occupation forces, and the threat posed to peace and security by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s belligerent rhetoric and aggressive actions on the ground. It was underlined that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-inspired BJP government’s ‘Hindutva’ mindset, with its anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri obsession, is responsible for creating a perilous situation for regional peace and stability. The participants welcomed the consideration of Jammu & Kashmir in the Security Council on January 15, 2020, and noted that it reflected the international community’s recognition of the seriousness of the situation. It was also decided to observe the Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5 in a befitting manner.

Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that with eight million people in a state of siege in Kashmir, India’s racially extremist ideology of Hindutva poses a threat to peace in the region and the world. “And I am afraid this is going to pose a threat to not just to Pakistan and the neighbouring countries or to the Indian minorities, but eventually this will be a threat to world peace,” he said in an interview with DW television.

During the interview with Editor-In-Chief of DW News Asia Ines Paul, aired on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he is the first political leader to warn the world about what has happened in India. “India has been taken over by a racially extremist exclusive ideology, which is called Hindutva,” he said, adding that ideology of Hindutva takes strength from RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) which was born in 1925 and its inspiration was from Nazi party of Germany. He said India, which was a nuclear armed country of 1.3 billion people, is in the hands of extremists. Not only the people of India are going to suffer, which are already suffering, but of the people of Kashmir also, he added.

Imran Khan also mentioned the current situation in India, including the ongoing riots and demonstrations after the introduction of a new citizenship law by the Modi government. He pointed out that eight million people in Kashmir are in a state of siege for the last over five months. “And it is because of the RSS ideology, which believes that India only belongs to Hindus and the minorities are inferior.” To a question about the human rights situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the prime minister invited the world to visit and see the situation themselves.

“We invite the world and anybody can come and see the Pakistani part of Kashmir, then they go and see the Indian-held Kashmir,” he remarked. To another question, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the silence of world on Kashmir is due to commercial interests because India is a big market. Secondly, he viewed that in the strategic Western mind, India is supposed to be a counterbalance to China. “Therefore you see a completely different approach,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed UN Security Council’s discussion on Jammu and Kashmir for the second time in five months, saying consideration by the council reflects ‘seriousness of the prevailing situation’.

The UN Security Council (UNSC), which met behind-closed-doors Wednesday, discussed the grave situation in the occupied valley, with diplomats voicing concern over the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. “An internationally recognized dispute, J&K remains on the Security Council’s agenda and its consideration by the Council reflects a recognition of the seriousness of the prevailing situation,” the prime minister said in a tweet. Imran Khan stressed that the solution to Jammu and Kashmir dispute lay in implementation of UNSC Resolutions and as per the aspirations of the people of valley. “J&K dispute must be resolved in accordance with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the will of Kashmiri people,” he wrote. The prime minister said Pakistan will continue to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until they secure their inalienable right to self-determination.