PM forewarns world against ‘Srebrenica-type massacre’ in IOK

Imran warns of ‘severe repercussions and reactions’ if Modi goes ahead with his ethnic cleansing

ISLAMABAD: A day after Prime Minister Imran Khan warned India against any military misadventure, he sought to nudge the international community into action saying that “severe repercussions and reactions” would ensue if it “silently witness(es) another Srebrenica-type massacre & ethnic cleansing of Muslims in IOK”.

Illegal abrogation of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK)’s special status has turned the disputed Himalayan region into a tinderbox ready to ignite the moment New Delhi lifts the curfew which has been in place since August 5.

As Pakistanis joined Kashmiris in observing black day on Thursday, Premier Imran took to Twitter to forewarn the international community against the sinister plans of Narendra Modi’s suffronized India for IOK.

In a series of tweets directly addressed to the international community, Imran said the international community’s failure to stop Delhi’s brutalities in IOK would cause further radicalisation in the Muslim world and set off cycles of violence.

“In IOK, 12 days of curfew, presence of extra troops in an already heavily militarised occupied territory, sending in of RSS goons, complete communication blackout; with the example of Modi's earlier ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Gujarat,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

In IOK, 12 days of curfew, presence of extra troops in an already heavily militarized occupied territory, sending in of RSS goons, complete communication blackout; with the example of Modi's earlier ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Gujarat

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 15, 2019

He was referring to a wave of wanton killing of Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002 under the watch of Narendra Modi, who was the chief minister at the time. Countless Muslims were massacred in methodical killing which came to be known as ‘Gujarat pogrom’.

“Will world silently witness another Srebrenica-type massacre & ethnic cleansing of Muslims in IOK? I want to warn international community if it allows this to happen, it will have severe repercussions & reactions in the Muslim world setting off radicalisation & cycles of violence,” Imran wrote in another tweet on the popular microblogging site.

The premier was referring to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre – also known as the Srebrenica genocide – in which thousands of Bosniaks had been killed by Serb military and paramilitary forces in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian war.

Modi’s government robbed IOK of its special status on August 5 before deploying thousands of troops to the already highly militarised region. Several Kashmiri leaders and former chief ministers were also placed under house arrests before the explosive move.

Political leaders and experts have warned of a severe backlash, with local resentment amplified after authorities imposed severe movement restrictions in the valley and severed all public telecommunications links, including mobile phones and internet.

Pakistan retaliated by suspending bilateral trade and all public transport links with India, as well as expelling Delhi’s ambassador to Islamabad.