PM Imran says no point in talking to India

In an interview with NYT, the premier warns of a military escalation in the region

Prime Minister Imran Khan. PHOTO: AFP

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday he would no longer seek a dialogue with India and alarmed that a threat of a military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours was rising.

In an interview with The New York Times a day after he had a talk with President Donald Trump on the phone, the premier complained about what he described as repeated rebuffs from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his appeals for communication, both before and after the August 5 move in occupied Kashmir.

PM Imran vows to raise Kashmir issue at every forum

“There is no point in talking to them. I mean, I have done all the talking. Unfortunately, now when I look back, all the overtures that I was making for peace and dialogue, I think they took it for appeasement,” Imran said during the interview.

“There is nothing more that we can do.”

Earlier this month, India revoked Kashmir’s special status and deployed thousands of troops to quell any possible unrest, cutting nearly all communications in the valley.

Indian soldiers and police officers have been accused of using excessive force on Kashmiris. They have detained the local political leadership, drawing strong criticism from rights groups and the United Nations.

New Delhi has described its new policy on Kashmir as a legal and internal matter. It claims the deployment of armed forces was precautionary and temporary.
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