Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday highlighted the plight of eight million Kashmiris who are suffering "in an open jail" in India-occupied Kashmir and warned against the possible massacre of residents once the curfew is lifted. The premier shared his conversations with various people he met in New York who had relayed to him their stories of not being able to contact their relatives and family members.
"We know of mass arrests. We know that the entire leadership of Kashmir - even those leaders who were pro-India - are now somewhere in jail in India. "We know that young people, boys have been picked up. We know that [even] hospitals aren't functioning," he said. "My whole point of coming here was to highlight this. This is unprecedented in this day and age."
PM said that Modi had remarked that "Pakistan should stop terrorism" but questioned what the justification for jailing eight million people was. "What is happening to Kashmiris, is also a responsibility of the UN," he said urging world leaders to not remain bystanders to the suffering of so many. "If ever the Security Council were to move it is now," the premier declared.
"Eight million people are locked inside for 50 days [...] this has the potential to reach the unthinkable." "For what purpose was the UN established?" he asked. The premier also expressed his disappointment over the lukewarm response shown thus far by the global community over the issue. "How can the global community remain silent when 8 million people are being treated worse then animals?" he asked.
"If 8 million Europeans or Jews or Americans [...] leave 8 million, if only 8 Americans were under siege, what would be the response of the international community [then]?" he asked. The prime minister said that India's claim that this is an internal issue and that the world should stay out of it is "nonsense". He reminded the media that there are 11 UN Security Council resolutions recognising the fact that Kashmir is a disputed territory which give the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir through a plebiscite.
He said that a bigger worry was what will happen after the curfew imposed by India in occupied Kashmir is lifted. "I fear that after the curfew is lifted, there would be a massacre" by the 900,000 Indian troops deployed there said the premier. "I also fear that whatever happens in Kashmir, India would blame Pakistan for it," he added, referring to India's blame on Pakistan for the February attack on its military convoy by a Kashmiri boy.
"I went on air and said if you give us any proof, we will take action. Before any proof could come the Indian jets arrived; they bombed us," he said. The prime minister reminded all those listening that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who subscribes to the RSS ideology, was responsible for the massacre in Gujrat.
"Unfortunately India today is governed by a racist, Hindu supremacist party RSS which was banned in India [...] Just google it and you will find that [Benito] Mussolini (former Prime Minister of Italy) was their hero." Agencies add: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that both the United States and Saudi Arabia asked him to mediate with Iran to defuse tensions.
Khan met both US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations, before which he visited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. "Trump asked me that if we could de-escalate the situation and maybe come up with another deal," Khan told reporters.
"Yes, we did convey this, and yes, we're trying our best," he said. "I immediately spoke to President Rouhani yesterday after the meeting with President Trump. I can't say anything right now more than this except that we're trying and mediating," he said.
In Saudi Arabia, which was hit earlier this month by attacks on its oil infrastructure blamed on Iran, Crown Prince Mohammed "also asked me to talk to the Iranian president," Khan said. Prime Minister Imran Khan met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York. During the meeting, matters related to bilateral relations and regional development came under discussion.
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