Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has reacted sharply to Monday’s developments in Jammu and Kashmir insisting that with an approach like this, “incidents like Pulwama are bound to happen again”, the Dawn reported.
“I can predict this will happen. They will attempt to place the blame on us again. They may strike us again, and we will strike back,” Khan told his country’s Parliament Tuesday.
“What will happen then? They will attack us and we will respond and the war can go both ways… But if we fight a war till we shed the last drop of our blood, who will win that war? No one will win it and it will have grievous consequences for the entire world. This is not nuclear blackmail,” he added.
Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly Tuesday to discuss the country’s future course of action in the wake of India’s decision to revoke Article 370, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, Khan said his government’s priority was to improve relations with all of Pakistan’s neighbours because it was vital to improve the country’s economic situation.
“When we took up government, our main priority was to address poverty in our country. We reached out to all our neighbours, because without having a semblance of normalcy in ties, we cannot attain stability and alleviate poverty.
“All my trips to neighbouring countries were meant for this purpose. I visited Afghanistan, I talked to India, telling them if you take one step towards us, we will come two steps towards you. I went to Iran and I visited America.
“When I reached out to India, they expressed concerns that there were militant outfits operating from Pakistan. I told Modi that after the grave and painful tragedy of the Army Public School massacre, all our political parties had resolved to never let the territory of Pakistan be used for terrorist activities. But I got the feeling that the Indian side was not serious about talks. When we went to Bishkek, my suspicion regarding their unwillingness to speak was strengthened.”“Then Pulwama happened. Thank God our Air Force responded in the way it did. We shot down their pilot, but returned him immediately to send the message that we did not want war. We resolved that we would not talk over Kashmir till the (Indian) elections. The elections happened. “What happened yesterday has only confirmed my suspicion. This is not a decision they (the BJP) have taken out of the blue. It was part of their election manifesto all along… It is ingrained in their ideology that puts Hindus above all other religions and seeks to establish a state that represses all other religious groups.”
“They will now crack down even harder on the Kashmiri people. They will try to suppress the Kashmiri resistance with brute force. I fear that they may initiate ethnic cleansing in Kashmir to wipe out the local population.
“With an approach of this nature, incidents like Pulwama are bound to happen again. I can already predict this will happen. They will attempt to place the blame on us again. They may strike us again, and we will strike back.
The joint session of upper and lower houses was summoned by President Arif Alvi to decide Pakistan’s future course of action in the wake of India’s decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status under Article 370, the paper reported.
Earlier, Pakistan’s army chief said the country’s military would “go to any extent” to support people in the contested Kashmir region, after arch rival India revoked special status in its portion of the territory.
“Pakistan Army firmly stands by the Kashmiris in their just struggle to the very end,” said General Qamar Javed Bajwa after meeting with top commanders in Rawalpindi.
“We are prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil our obligations in this regard,” he added, without elaborating further.
