Kashmir and the dire threat

A potential disaster that could go way beyond the Indian subcontinent

Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again presented Pakistan’s case on Kashmir in an eloquent manner, exposing the guile and subterfuge employed by India to cover up the reign of terror it has let loose in the valley. In a wide-ranging interview with the Doha-based Al Jazeera news channel, Imran spoke with passion and clarity to drive home the point that New Delhi’s actions potentially risk sparking a conflict between the two nuclear-tipped nations. ‘Eight million Muslims in Kashmir are under siege for almost six weeks. And why this can become a flashpoint between India and Pakistan is because what we already know India is trying to do is divert attention from their illegal annexation and their impending genocide on Kashmir,’ he told his interviewer. The PM made it clear that Islamabad would never start a war, calling himself a pacifist and anti-war. He reiterated his belief that wars do not solve any problems.

But he hastened to add that when two nuclear-armed countries fight, there is every possibility that it is going to end up into nuclear war. Given just how the situation is fraught with danger, Imran told the news channel that Islamabad has already approached the United Nations and other international forums, exhorting them to act now because, as he put it, ‘this is a potential disaster that would go way beyond the Indian subcontinent.’ The PM took pains to remind the audience just how his bold and sincere efforts to open dialogue with India were rebuffed by the country’s eastern neighbour. ‘While we were trying to have dialogue…they were trying to bankrupt us economically, so that’s when we pulled back. And that’s when we realised that this government is on an agenda ... to push Pakistan to disaster,’ Imran said and went on to declare that there is no question of talking to the Indian government right now after they revoked article 370 of their own constitution and annexed Kashmir illegally. One couldn’t agree more with the PM on this since the stubborn Indian govt is not even ready to lift the stifling curfew from the valley, which has rendered it as the world’s largest open-air prison.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2019.

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