New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said his country will no longer take part in a dialogue with India. In an interview to The New York Times, Khan said India mistook his overtures for talks as “appeasement”.
“There is no point in talking to them. 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,” Khan said in the interview at the prime minister’s office in Islamabad. “There is nothing more that we can do.”
He also claimed that India may carry out “ethnic cleansing and genocide” in Kashmir.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have mounted after 5 August, when the Narendra Modi government decided to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.
‘Very explosive situation’
The NYT said it spoke to Khan a day after he had spoken to US President Donald Trump over the phone and told him of a “potentially very explosive situation” between his country and India.
Khan also expressed concern that India might undertake a deceptive operation in Kashmir to try to justify military action against Pakistan. And Pakistan, he said, would be forced to respond.
“And then you are looking at two nuclear-armed countries eyeball-to-eyeball, and anything can happen,” Khan said.
“My worry is that this can escalate and for two nuclear-armed countries, it should be alarming for the world what we are facing now.”
Also read: Tale of two Hitlers in Pakistan: Imran Khan is a fan of good one, keeps the bad one for Modi
Indian ambassador rejects Khan’s claims
India’s ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was visiting the NYT editorial board, rejected Khan’s criticism.
“Our experience has been that every time we have taken an initiative toward peace, it has turned out badly for us,” PTI quoted the ambassador as saying. “We expect Pakistan to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action against terrorism.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said if there is going to be an India-Pakistan dialogue, it has to be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Before that, Singh had also said India might review its ‘No First Use’ nuclear policy.
On the situation in Kashmir, the ambassador said: “We are looking at things going back to normal. Restrictions are being eased based on the ground situation. Public utility services, banks and hospitals are functioning normally.
“There are adequate food stocks. Some restrictions on communication are in the interests of safety and security of the citizenry.”
Trump’s involvement
On Khan’s visit to Washington last month, before the Modi government’s move on Kashmir, President Trump had stated his willingness to mediate the “dispute” between New Delhi and Islamabad. This was the first time Trump raised the issue.
Trump also had a telephone call with PM Modi earlier this week.
Trump spoke about mediation once again between both the nuclear-armed neighbours in an interview to NBC News. “I will do the best I can do mediate or do something,” he said.
ThePrint had reported last week that India is contemplating “revised talking points” with Pakistan, as it believes the Kashmir issue is now “over”.
Also read: Imran Khan was right. Modi did resolve the Kashmir issue once and for all: Reham Khan
(With inputs from PTI)
Pakistan, India, and China, all three should show accommodation by acknowledging that they have right over only that portion of Kashmir which is currently have under their control. India should stop eyeing POK, and Pakistan should stop showing interest in what it calls the “India administered Kashmir”. Similar attitude towards Aksai Chin.
Once the three countries officially announce the above, India should immediately rescind its latest decision that J&K will be a Union Territory. The territory should be returned its Statehood, with the only caveat that it will have all the rights that other Indian states have, and as for the entry of outsiders, it will be free to adopt the rules that the other hill-state, Himachal Pradesh has. CRPF and other forces which are roaming the streets of Kashmir today should be withdrawn to show good intentions of the government, and after the decision of the three countries mentioned above has had some time to sink in.
Now that Modi government has displayed perfect timing (Law 35) (2) made others “plays with the cards dealt” by India (Law 31) and “entered action with boldness” (Law 28), there is a need for: (1) “planning all the way to the end” (Law 29) while “not isolating in a fortress but rather finding and cultivating strong allies” (Law 18) (Robert Green, 48 Laws of Power).
Frustrated soul…playing to the gallery and his handlers ‘paki army’ strings.
Lage raho
The United States is clearly worried about the state of India – Pakistan relations. The immediate concern is finalising a peace deal with the Taliban. However, even over the longer term, it has a vital interest in India’s peaceful rise as a major Asian power. For that matter, China, which has long used Pakistan as a needle against India, would not like to see the two nations go to war. 2. Speaking even in the abstract, it is not a desirable situation for relations between the two countries – with such a painful history – to be where they are. A refusal to talk, to not acknowledge that there are outstanding issues that require sustained dialogue, to be so close to using military force, now this statement on NFU, all these bring the subcontinent closer to conflict than it has been in a very long time. 3. One would have expected the diplomatic corps to have advised against raising the pitch and the polemic so high. Amplified by sections of the media widely seen as reflecting the official viewpoint.
Long story short…Rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric frm Imm the Dimm
This excellent news. Remember they were talking peace while going forward with war in Kargil. Until they make irreversible changes on the terror front, a cold peace is the best hope. Even for that we have to prepared to defend and retaliate if necessary.
The following facts should be highlighted to the international community:
1) Pakistan has ethnic cleansed out the Hindus from West Pakistan (25%) to <2%. The remaining hapless minorities in Pakistan are hunted down with discriminatory blasphemy laws, rapes and forced conversions.
2) In India the Muslim population has grown from 12% to 18%. The constitution and laws demand equal protection.
3) The ethnic composition of PoK has been deliberately altered with settling of Sunni population in once Shia dominated areas.
4) Throughout the world Pakistan is known for hosting Osama Bin Laden and a variety of terrorist organizations. These issues should be highlighted.
5) FATF should not use any political considerations and strictly apply the rules. Which means Pakistan should have been black listed long ago. Indian diplomats should leave no stone unturned to ensure Pak blacklisting.
6) Otherwise India should let Paks bark and keep the powder dry.