Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that he will raise the Kashmir dispute at every international platform, including the United Nations General Assembly, PTI reported. Khan made the remarks during an address to the nation, in which he talked about his administration’s future strategy on the Kashmir matter.
“First, I believe, the entire nation should stand with Kashmiris. I have said this that I will act as Kashmir’s ambassador,” Khan was quoted as saying. “I will tell the world about this, I have shared this with heads of states that I have been in contact with. I will raise this issue at the UN as well.”
The prime minister said that the Narendra Modi-led administration in India had made a “historic blunder” by taking away Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
Khan said that Pakistan had won on the “diplomatic front” and had internationalised the Kashmir matter. The prime minister said that Pakistan had also succeeded in calling a United Nations Security Council session on Kashmir “for the first time since 1965”, Dawn reported.
The Pakistan prime minister said that he had prioritised dialogue and peace between the two countries when he came to power, but claimed that India “would look for opportunities to accuse Pakistan of terrorism”. “First they had elections coming up, so we waited for that to be over, we thought when elections would be over, the situation will be different,” Khan was quoted as saying. “Then Pulwama happened; a Kashmiri man blew himself up. India, instead of introspecting, pointed fingers at us. After the elections, we saw that they tried their best to bankrupt Pakistan and tried to have Pakistan ‘blacklisted’ at FATF [Financial Action Task Force].”
Khan said that following this, Pakistan had decided to not hold any deliberations with India. He also said that Muslim countries will eventually raise the Kashmir dispute.
The prime minister announced that an event would be held every week, starting next Friday around noon, to show solidarity with the people in Kashmir. “This is the UN’s responsibility, they promised the people of Kashmir that they would protect them,” Khan said, adding that international bodies often take the side of the powerful countries but said that “1.25 billion Muslims are looking towards it [United Nations]”.
Khan also cautioned against a nuclear war between the two countries, saying that there would be no winners. “It will not only wreak havoc in this region, but the entire world will face consequences. It is now up to the international community,” he said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated ever since New Delhi’s August 5 announcement that Jammu and Kashmir’s special status would be revoked. Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India for Kashmir since Independence, has not taken this move well.
New Delhi’s actions on Jammu and Kashmir were swiftly condemned by Islamabad, which downgraded diplomatic ties and ended bilateral trade. Since then, Pakistan has raised the Kashmir matter at the United Nations Security Council, and has talked of raising it at the UN Human Rights Council and the International Court of Justice as well.
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