PM Imran to address nation on Kashmir situation today
This will be PM Imran's first address to the nation since India revoked special status of IOK
PM Imran Khan. PHOTO: PTI
Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to address the nation on Monday on the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and Islamabad's future course of action.
According to Reuters, the prerecorded statement will be televised at 5:20pm.
This will be the prime minister's first address to the nation since August 5 when New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted special status to the occupied valley.
He delivered a policy statement on the matter in a joint session of parliament on August 6, vowing to take on the “racist” ideology of the BJP and promising to raise the issue on every international forum including the UN Security Council.
“What they [BJP] did in Kashmir is in accordance with their ideology. They have a racist ideology. I fear that the Indian government will now resort to ethnic cleansing in Kashmir,” he added.
BJP preparing to deploy RSS in IOK: Qureshi
Warning that India’s move could provoke conflict in the region, PM Imran demanded action from the global community as he accused Modi of violating international law in pursuit of an anti-Muslim agenda in India.
“If the world does not act today… (if) the developed world does not uphold its own laws, then things will go to a place that we will not be responsible for,” he said.
The premier went on to warn that “there will be a reaction” from Kashmiris if India tried to “crush them”, likely leading to more violence in the region which in the past has brought the nuclear-armed rivals close to conflict.
“The BJP does not consider Kashmiris as their equals. They will try to crush them leading to a reaction that could be a Pulwama-like incident,” he noted. “Then they will blame us [Pakistan] for it.”
PM Imran reiterated that the armed forces of Pakistan would retaliate if India pursued its aggressive designs against the country.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, PM Imran lamented that his peace overtures to Modi were not reciprocated and said it was now useless to hold talks with India.
"There is no point in talking to them [India]. 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," he said. "There is nothing more that we can do."
“The most important thing is that eight million people’s lives are at risk. We are all worried that there are ethnic cleansing and genocide about to happen," he added.
The premier is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27 where he is expected to highlight the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan maintains that New Delhi's illegal move is an attempt to change the demography of IOK and has made concerted efforts to mobilise diplomatic support for Kashmiris.
With the occupied valley under lockdown for over 21 days and over 4,000 people, mainly political leaders, detained or arrested, Islamabad has been warning the international community of India's genocidal intent to ethnically cleanse IOK.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned that India is preparing to deploy ‘goons’ from a right-wing Hindu-nationalist group in Kashmir to carry out massacres in the occupied valley.
The RSS is a Hindu supremacist organisation which gave birth to India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Reuters, the prerecorded statement will be televised at 5:20pm.
This will be the prime minister's first address to the nation since August 5 when New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted special status to the occupied valley.
He delivered a policy statement on the matter in a joint session of parliament on August 6, vowing to take on the “racist” ideology of the BJP and promising to raise the issue on every international forum including the UN Security Council.
“What they [BJP] did in Kashmir is in accordance with their ideology. They have a racist ideology. I fear that the Indian government will now resort to ethnic cleansing in Kashmir,” he added.
BJP preparing to deploy RSS in IOK: Qureshi
Warning that India’s move could provoke conflict in the region, PM Imran demanded action from the global community as he accused Modi of violating international law in pursuit of an anti-Muslim agenda in India.
“If the world does not act today… (if) the developed world does not uphold its own laws, then things will go to a place that we will not be responsible for,” he said.
The premier went on to warn that “there will be a reaction” from Kashmiris if India tried to “crush them”, likely leading to more violence in the region which in the past has brought the nuclear-armed rivals close to conflict.
“The BJP does not consider Kashmiris as their equals. They will try to crush them leading to a reaction that could be a Pulwama-like incident,” he noted. “Then they will blame us [Pakistan] for it.”
PM Imran reiterated that the armed forces of Pakistan would retaliate if India pursued its aggressive designs against the country.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, PM Imran lamented that his peace overtures to Modi were not reciprocated and said it was now useless to hold talks with India.
"There is no point in talking to them [India]. 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," he said. "There is nothing more that we can do."
“The most important thing is that eight million people’s lives are at risk. We are all worried that there are ethnic cleansing and genocide about to happen," he added.
The premier is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27 where he is expected to highlight the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan maintains that New Delhi's illegal move is an attempt to change the demography of IOK and has made concerted efforts to mobilise diplomatic support for Kashmiris.
With the occupied valley under lockdown for over 21 days and over 4,000 people, mainly political leaders, detained or arrested, Islamabad has been warning the international community of India's genocidal intent to ethnically cleanse IOK.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned that India is preparing to deploy ‘goons’ from a right-wing Hindu-nationalist group in Kashmir to carry out massacres in the occupied valley.
The RSS is a Hindu supremacist organisation which gave birth to India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).