Dawn.com :
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday addressed the nation on the Kashmir issue and the government’s future strategy on the situation in the occupied region.
The premier started his address by saying that he wanted to share with the public the government’s policy and stance in view of the existing situation in occupied Kashmir.
“When I came to power, we wanted to solve it and bring peace. India and we share many problems; inflation, poverty, unemployment and climate change, etc.
“So we wanted to be friends with everyone […] When I came into power, I made many overtures for dialogue [to India] but there were always some problems,” the prime minister said.
“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. Then Pulwama happened; a Kashmiri man blew himself up. “They (India), instead of introspecting, pointed fingers at us. After the elections, we realised they had a different agenda and they tried to blacklist Pakistan at FATF.
“On August 5 they sent additional military troops in Kashmir and announced that it was now part of India. This was against the vision of their founding fathers and UN resolutions,” he added.
He said it was important for the public to understand the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party – said to be a parent organisation of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – of which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a member.
“They (RSS) believe that Hindus are supreme and others are second-class citizens. They have a fascist ideology, they have been sidelined by India’s past government as a terrorist organisation.
“They were the ones who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi for trying to promote Hindu-Muslim unity. After [former prime minister Jawaharlal] Nehru’s death, the RSS ideology started gaining ground.
“This was the ideology that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah saw and worked towards the creation of Pakistan. Our ideology is based on the Holy Quran and believes in the protection of minorities; RSS has the opposite mindset.”
Prime Minister said Modi had made a “historic blunder” by revoking occupied Kashmir’s special autonomy and in doing so “he has opened the way to Kashmir’s freedom”.
“We received information that they were planning a false-flag operation like what they did in Balakot, to divert attention from occupied Kashmir.
“We won on the diplomatic front; we internationalised the Kashmir issue, talked to heads of states, their embassies [and] the UN Security Council called a session on Kashmir for the first time since 1965. We also kept raising this for the international media to report and they picked this up.”
Outlining the government’s future strategy to deal with the situation in occupied Kashmir, the premier said: “First, I believe, the entire nation should stand with the Kashmiri nation. I have said this that I will act as Kashmir’s ambassador.
“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.
“I read in the newspapers that people are disappointed that Muslim countries are not siding with Kashmir. I want to tell you not to be disappointed; if some countries are not raising this issue because of their economic interests, they will eventually take this issue up. They will have to, with time.
“The western media has never criticised India as much as it is doing right now. I want to tell the Kashmiri people that whether the world stands with them or not, Pakistan will.”
The prime minister announced that a ceremony will be held every week to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people and coming Friday, the nation will come out between 12-12:30pm to show solidarity.
“They (India) have played their trump card, they don’t have any card to play now. Now whatever needs to be done will be done by us and the world.
“This is the UN’s responsibility, they promised the people of Kashmir that they would protect them. Historically, the world bodies have always sided with the powerful but the UN should know that 1.25 billion Muslims are looking towards it.
“Will these big countries keep looking at their economic interests only? Because they should remember, both countries have nuclear weapons.
“In a nuclear war, no one will win. It will only wreak havoc in this region, but the entire world will face consequences. It is now up to the international community,” the premier concluded.
Earlier, while talking to reporters in Islamabad, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information (SAPM) Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had said that the premier will “take the nation into confidence” over events in occupied Kashmir and will also issue a policy statement. She further said that the “world’s conscience must be shaken” and urged the media to report on the plight of occupied Kashmir’s residents.
The premier’s speech comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met at the G7 in France on Monday.
“We spoke last night about Kashmir, prime minister [Modi] really feels he has it under control,” said Trump while talking to media. Modi, meanwhile, said all issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral, adding: “I’m confident that we can discuss our problems and solve them together.”
Since India’s decision to strip Kashmiris of their seven-decade-long special autonomy through a rushed presidential order on August 5, the premier has repeatedly said that the Indian government’s policy in the Himalayan region is in line with the “ideology” of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party – said to be a parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – that believes in “Hindu supremacy”.
He has also alerted the international community to a possible “false flag operation” by the Indian leadership to “divert attention from massive human rights violations” in occupied Kashmir.
A communications blackout and heavy restrictions on movement imposed by the Indian authorities from the eve of New Delhi’s decision to revoke Article 370 entered their 22nd day on Monday.
However, the turning of the restive region into a fortress of barricades and barbed wire has not prevented protests and clashes with security forces taking place. Police on Monday said stone-throwing protestors killed a truck driver in occupied Kashmir.
In a demonstration in Anantnag district on Sunday protestors hurled stones at a truck that they believed to be a military vehicle. The 42-year-old driver was struck on the head and died, police said.
The Press Trust of India news agency said two men had been arrested over the incident.
India says no civilian has died from police action since August 5. But residents have said three people have been killed, including a young mother who choked after police fired tear-gas canisters into her home.
Multiple hospital sources have told AFP at least 100 people had been hurt during the lockdown, some with firearm injuries.
