Imran nominates himself as “ambassador of Kashmir”

Kashmir Times
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that he has nominated himself as the “ambassador of Kashmir” and will keep fighting till the region attains “freedom.” He also cautioned that both the countries were nuclear powers and in case of a war between the countries, it could have an effect on the entire world.
“I have nominated myself as the ambassador of Kashmir and will fight the case for freedom of Kashmir till the very end,” he said in his televised address to his nation.
He also accused India of blaming Pakistan for every terror-related incident and boasted that “time has come for the final solution on Kashmir.”
“Pakistan wants peace and development but India is trying to make us bankrupt. India has a tendency of always blaming Pakistan. The time has come for a final solution of Kashmir problem which has been festering for the last several decades,” said Imran Khan He claimed that the Pakistani military was ever-ready and vigilant to thwart any misadventure by its eastern neighbour.
Outlining his government’s future strategy on Kashmir, Khan said, “First, I believe, the entire nation should stand with the Kashmiri nation. I have said this that I will act as Kashmir’s ambassador.”
He said if the current tensions between India and Pakistan lead to a war, one must remember that both the countries have nuclear weapons, adding “no one is a winner in a nuclear war.”
In his address at the outset mentioned he would only discuss the Kashmir issue, the Pakistan PM said he would raise the matter at every international forum, including the United Nations General Assembly, where he would speak later in September.
Khan assured the fellow Pakistanis that his government “will stand by the Kashmiris till India lifts the restrictions in the Valley.”
“I’ll bring up the matter of Kashmir on every international forum. I’ll keep fighting for the Kashmiris and stand by them,” he added. Khan said, “Modi has played his “last card” on Kashmir and now Pakistan will decide what to do.”
“I will tell the world about this, I have shared this with heads of state that I have been in contact with. I will raise this issue at the UN as well,” he said while referring to his scheduled address to the UN General Assembly next month.
“I read in the newspapers that people are disappointed that Muslim countries are not siding with Kashmir. I want to tell you not to be disappointed; if some countries are not raising this issue because of their economic interests, they will eventually take this issue up. They will have to, with time,” he said.
Khan claimed that Prime Minister Modi had made a “historic blunder” by revoking Kashmir’s special autonomy. He alleged that India was now eyeing Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir but his forces were keeping a close watch on the Line of Control.
Imran Khan then made a reference to how both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. “If conflict moves towards war then remember both nations have nuclear weapons and no one is a winner in nuclear war and it has global ramifications,” he said, before hurling a message directed purportedly towards the US. “Superpowers of the world have a huge responsibility. Whether they support us or not, Pakistan will go to every extent.”
Imran Khan’s speech came almost a couple of hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear to the United States of America President Donald Trump that Jammu and Kashmir was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, and there was no space of mediation by any other country. PM Modi made the statement during his meeting with President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
Tensions between India and Pakistan heightened after New Delhi earlier this month abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and divided the former state into two Union Territories.
During his Independence Day speech, Khan had told the Legislative Assembly in Pakistan occupied Kashmir that he will become “the brand ambassador for all Kashmiris” and will raise the matter at international forums.
Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday ruled out any third-party intervention in the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan during a bilateral meeting with the United States President Donald Trump on the sidelines of G7.
In his speech, Khan reiterated that the “RSS ideology” in India “does not want the freedom of Muslims, instead only looked forward to the prosperity of the Hindus.” Previously, Khan had said that Pakistan “needs to make the world realise that the ideology of the RSS is exactly like Nazis and that the India of today is no more tolerant, plural, or secular as it once was.” Recalling Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Khan said that the leader had called for a separate state of Pakistan because “he understood that the RSS ideology in India does not want the freedom of Muslims, instead only looked forward to the prosperity of the Hindus.” “They treated Muslims as second class citizens. Jinnah knew that if Pakistan didn’t become a separate state then their condition will also be similar to what is now happening with the Muslims, including Kashmiris, in India,” he added.
Khan also said that he will raise the matter at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly next month. “We have succeeded in internationalizing the issue of Kashmir, we talked to world leaders and embassies. UN for the first time since 1965, convened a meeting on Kashmir issue. Even international media has picked it up,” he said. Rattled by India’s historic move to change the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded bilateral relations with India and suspended bilateral trade, halting Samjhauta and Thar Express trains from its side and banning Indian movies in Pakistani cinemas.