ISLAMABAD: Rejecting opposition’s undue criticism of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Kashmir Policy, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Farrukh Habib said Kashmiris’ hearts beat with Pakistan and they knew that Imran Khan would never compromise on their cause. Prime Minister Imran Khan had categorically stated there would be no talk with India until it restores pre-August 5 status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he told at a press conference here Friday. “There were many pressures on us, even our own local businessmen, who import raw material from India, had a demand for resuming bilateral trade but Prime Minister Imran Khan while keeping in view sacrifices and struggle of Kashmiris, took principal decision that we would not have any talk with India until restoration of the pre-August 5 status,” he added. Farrukh said the Prime Minister had proved himself a true ambassador of Kashmiris by highlighting the Kashmir issue vociferously at every international fora including Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), United Nations General Assembly, in meetings with former United States President, Donald Trump and others. “He left no forum in the world where he did not speak about the cause of Kashmir and its people,” he added. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan exposed the obnoxious face of his Indian counterpart across the globe by sensitizing his atrocities in IIOJK and his despicable act of ripping the Valley of its special status. He said the Western media, which avoided reporting against India, had started highlighting the human right violations committed by the occupation forces in the IIOJK. The international magazines wrote articles against Modi, he said, adding that it was the Prime Minister Imran Khan who played a greater role in familiarizing the world with his callous mindset and modus operandi against humanity. He said Pakistan would continue its moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Kashmir. The minister said that the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir would only elect the party whose leader had courage to speak with the US on equal footing and respond to Modi in a befitting way, and the one who would never compromise on Kashmir cause. On the other hand, Farrukh Habib said people like Maryam Safdar who did nothing for Kashmir cause were leading the election campaign in the AJK for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He said Maryam was the same person who once said she had no property at home and even in London, but later it was proved that she not only had arable land in the country but also had immovable property in the United Kingdom. He added that the people of any area always gauged the credibility of a politician before voting him/her to the power. Lambasting Maryam for claiming Kashmir as her other home, Farrukh Habib asked her as to how many times she visited the AJK in the past, adding “the people used to visit their homes on a regular basis.” He asked Maryam to refrain from lecturing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Kashmir policy as she had no right to even discuss it because of her family’s personal relations with the Indian Prime Minister. Recalling the time when Nawaz Sharif as a Prime Minister preferred to attend Narendra Modi’s oath taking ceremony and refused to meet the Hurriyat leaders of occupied Kashmir in India, he said the Indian Prime Minister was used to attending private functions of the Sharif family. He said it was Nawaz Sharif, who being Prime Minister of Pakistan, made a deal on Kashmir, adding, it was open secret now that he used to meet high-profile people from India without bringing into the knowledge of state institutions. Farrukh reminded Maryam that Narendra Modi had visited her home in the past after reviewing progress on establishment of a network in Afghanistan which was developed to destabilize Pakistan by carrying out terrorist attacks. The minister said the people of Kashmir would definitely vote for Imran Khan to get rid of their exploitation at the hands of the PML-N. He chided Maryam Safdar for criticizing the prime minister during electioneering instead of talking about Martyrs of Kashmir. There was another politician, who became chairman on the basis of ‘parchi’, campaigning in the AJK for the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP), he said, asking Bilawal Zardari whether he wanted to introduce culture of corruption and TTs (telegraphic transfers) in the AJK. He said the people of Kashmir knew those impersonators who were only out there for staging dramas and deceiving public, adding, both PML-N and PPP parties would face worst-ever defeat in the AJK as happened in the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) elections where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf got heavy mandate. He said the federal government allocated record funds for the GB in the Public Sector Development Programme 2021-22, aimed at improving road infrastructure, boosting tourism and completing hydel power projects. Farrukh hinted at a similar development package for the AJK, which according to him, would mark a new era of development in the valley. To a query, he said the prudent policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan had started paying dividends as the economic growth was on an upward trajectory. All the economic indicators were positive as the country’s Foreign Exchange Reserves, remittances and exports had registered significant growth. To another query, he said the PTI distributed tickets to candidates in the AJK on purely merit basis.