Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Thursday forewarned Indian public that complete takeover of occupied Kashmir by their army was the beginning of military rule and martial law in the so-called largest democracy.
Khan, who recently quit the office of Muslim Conference president to pave way for another stalwart, expressed his gratitude to the international community for slapping condemnation on India for its Aug 5 move to annual the special status of occupied Kashmir and subsequent draconian measures to quell resistance in the territory.
“Lately the Muslim countries have also reviewed their attitude vis-à-vis Kashmir for which we are grateful to them as well as to the government of Pakistan,” he said.
Khan said that apart from the encouraging response of international media, civil society throughout the world was also rising not only to the Kashmir issue but also to the nefarious designs of BJP government within India, such as in Assam.
“Disintegration process in India has begun under Narendra Modi. I had remarked long ago that India is being ruled by Hindu Taliban,” he said.
The former AJK premier was of the view that though the government of Pakistan had taken many appreciable measures “yet much more needed to be done” to bail out the besieged Kashmiris.
Pakistan should strive for ‘pro-active’ engagement of international organisations to address the biggest issue of humanitarian relief for occupied Kashmir, he said.
Of the ISPR chief Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor’s Wednesday's presser, Khan maintained that Ghafoor had “represented the sentiments of the entire nation.”
“[The territories of] Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan were liberated [in 1947] on the basis of the ideology of the erstwhile princely state’s accession to Pakistan. It’s not just a slogan but a mission,” he said.
He pointed out that it was India that had declared “no first use” (of nuclear weapons) policy while Pakistan had not made any such announcement.
“Imagine how an army that has failed to defeat hardly 4000 fighting youth [in occupied Kashmir] over the past three decades can fight Pakistan,” he said, reminding India that no army could wage a war without overwhelming support from the local population.
“In Kashmir Pakistan army enjoys this edge over its rival. Along with the Pakistani military personnel, every single man, woman and child of Kashmir will vigorously fight India’s oppressor army,” he said.
When asked if he supported Pakistan army’s intervention in occupied Kashmir, like that of the Indian army in former East Pakistan, he parried a direct reply.
“If Pakistan could defeat a superpower [Soviet Union] in Afghanistan without sending its single trooper across the border, it can also happen in Kashmir,” he remarked.
However, he agreed with another questioner that the comparison between Afghanistan where the US was on the back of the fighters and occupied Kashmir was not fair.
“If indispensable, army should be and can be launched into occupied Kashmir,” he said.
On a question about breaking the LoC, he said it was not appropriate time for any such move.
“While a nuclear war looms large, we cannot engage our own troops by making attempts to cross the LoC. Why should we fight a war within our own home that we should be fighting in India?”
Tariq Naqash
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