‘Kashmir now a flashpoint, has potential of turning into nuclear war’ – Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the international community to play its proper role in solving the Kashmir problem and warned them that the dispute, which has now become a critical point between India and Pakistan, has the potential to become in a nuclear war and impact the entire country. world.

In a broad interview with Al Jazeera, the prime minister said that Pakistan has limited options to address the situation.

"There is not much we can do, except to approach all the international organizations that were created after the First World War, mainly the United Nations," he said, adding that the United States, China, Russia and European countries are being approached by Pakistan on the matter.

Read more: Atrocities in Kashmir held to stoke extremism: PM

He expressed his resentment over the lukewarm global response after India's revocation of the occupied autonomous state of Kashmir and said: "Unfortunately, due to all this about the big markets, [some] countries look at the big markets, they see India as a market of one billion people, they don't realize that if they don't intervene at this time, it will have consequences not only for the subcontinent but also for world trade: everyone will see each other affected by this. "

Possibility of nuclear war.

When asked if he shares the concerns expressed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about an accidental war between the two nuclear-powered powers, he said: "Absolutely. What is happening is that India is more or less leading to out a genocide. The kind of racial attacks [made] About the population, I don't think it has been a witness since Nazi Germany. The eight million Muslims in Kashmir have been under siege for almost six weeks. And why this can become a flash point between India and Pakistan is because what India is trying to do is divert attention from its illegal annexation and its impending genocide in Kashmir. "

He added: "They are diverting attention by blaming Pakistan for terrorism. And this is what they did last February when there was a suicide attack by a young Kashmir boy, exploding against an Indian military convoy and India blamed Pakistan for it and Then he bombarded us.

"So we fear that this will happen again because what they are doing in Kashmir will lead to a reaction, some kind of reaction, and then they will blame Pakistan for diverting attention from the world of genocide in Kashmir."

Speaking about the country's policy on the first use of nuclear weapons, he said: "There is no confusion. What I said was that Pakistan would never start a war and I am clear [about this]. I am a pacifist, I am against war, but what I said clearly was that when two countries with nuclear weapons fight, if they fight in a conventional war, there is every chance of ending in a nuclear war. "

The prime minister warned that if a conventional war were fought, "the Pakistanis will fight to the death for their freedom."

He said: "When a country with nuclear weapons fights to the death, it has consequences. That is why we have approached the United Nations and are approaching all international forums urging them to act at this time because this is a potential disaster. that would go beyond the Indian Subcontinent. "

Message to be delivered to the UNGA

Speaking about his speech at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, the prime minister said: "Under normal circumstances, I would have talked about climate change. Pakistan is one of the few countries most vulnerable to climate change. talked about in that, and secondly, in Islamophobia: the way in which Muslims suffer due to Islamophobia, particularly in Western countries and, of course, in India.

"But because of what is happening in Kashmir, I would be talking mainly about the situation in Kashmir."

Dialogue or without dialogue

When asked about his position on the dialogue with India, he said: "From the moment I took office, and that was last August, we have made repeated attempts to maintain a dialogue with India, so that we can live as civilized neighbors, to resolve our differences. "

He said that the only problem was Kashmir and should be resolved through a political agreement, so trade is important between Pakistan and India.

"Both countries suffer from poverty, both countries suffer a huge imminent disaster of climate change, we both have similar problems, so I told them that we should resume the talks and resolve our differences and try repeatedly," Prime Minister Imran said.

"Now, I realize that this (our overtures) was misunderstood. This extreme right-wing, racist and fascist government of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) was treating us as if we were afraid of them and they took it as an appeasement." .

Prime Minister Imran said the government discovered that while trying to establish a dialogue, India was trying to "push us to the FATF blacklist."

"We are on the gray list. If Pakistan is pushed to the black list, that means there will be sanctions. Then they were trying to get us bankrupt. It was then that we stepped back and that was when we realized that this is under an agenda."

"The agenda was to take Pakistan to disaster. Therefore, it is not about talking to the Indian government at this time (especially) after they revoked Article 370 of their own constitution and annexed Kashmir illegally," he said.

He drew attention to the fact that the measure was taken against United Nations Security Council resolutions that guaranteed that people could hold a referendum and a referendum to decide their fate.

"They have unilaterally breached not only international laws but also their own constitution, so it is not about talking to India in these circumstances," he reiterated.

Trump's offer

The prime minister, while talking about the repeated offers of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to play a role of dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi on Kashmir, said: "We are grateful to the president of the United States, Trump, because He is the president of the most powerful country in the world, and if the president of the USA intervenes in this, and intervenes seriously, it is a way to guarantee some kind of resolution.

"Second, even if it doesn't intervene directly, the United States has power in the UNSC. You see, that's why I think India is blocking this suggestion, because India knows that once the international community gets involved, the ruling will be for the people of Kashmir. The international community insists that the people of Kashmir exercise their right of self-determination. "

About the end of Afghanistan

The prime minister also spoke about the abrupt cancellation of talks between the United States and the Taliban after almost a year of negotiations.

"From a human point of view, everyone wants to help Afghans achieve peace, therefore, Pakistan is doing its part. Regardless of the little influence we have on the Taliban, we have asked you to go to the dialogue table ", said.

He said the talks with the Americans had been at a fairly advanced stage. "The only thing now was to get the Taliban to talk to the Afghan government so that everyone would come together and decide what they want to do. Now, this is unfortunate of what happened."

"The idea of ​​dialogue and struggle at the same time is always complicated. I hope this [suspension in dialogue] It's something temporary. I hope President Trump resumes the talks, because there is no other solution. There will be no military solution.

"The only way out is to return to the dialogue table."

Economy in the "right direction"

The prime minister defended the management of the economy by his government in the first year of his government. In response to a question, he said: "Pakistan (Tehreek-e-Insaf) inherited the worst economy in our history, we had the biggest current account deficit that no other government had to face in our history.

"At the time we took over, there was a sharp shortage of dollars because we were selling much less than we were buying in the world. That meant there was pressure on our rupee and, therefore, devaluation was devalued. When it broke it was devalued, there had to be inflation, "he said, adding that it was natural for the country to go through a difficult period.

"The good news is that we have reduced the current account deficit by 70 percent, our exports are going up (and) we have reduced our imports. Therefore, the gap has narrowed, which means we are going in the direction correct. " "

U-turns

Speaking about the repeated term often used to characterize him and his government, the prime minister said he didn't care about the reference.

"I'm happy that [his opponents] Let's say I'm prime minister of the changes of meaning. Only an idiot makes no change of direction. Only a jerk keeps banging his head against a brick wall when he gets in his way. An intelligent person immediately reviews his strategy and follows it, "he explained." When I was a cricketer, my team and I used to go to the ground with a strategy, but I used to change the strategy all the time depending on the situation. ".

"If the corrupt elite in our country had taken a U-turn of corruption, it would not be in jail at this time," he said in a lighter note.

Speaking about approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a rescue after having sworn he would never do so during his election campaign, he said he had to handle the given situation.

"The fact that you have a large deficit and have to borrow money means that you are not managing your economy properly. But when you inherit a sick economy, in the short time before you can increase your income, to close this gap, I & # 39; I'm afraid you have to ask for loans, "he said.

"What I promise my people is that when our term ends, we will leave a surplus economy."

When asked about the IMF's control over the country's economic decision-making, the prime minister said: "They have not exercised any control at this time, apart from telling us that we order our house in terms of reducing our expenses and increasing our income. ".

He added: "They [the IMF] He has not really asked us to do anything that is against our sovereignty. "

No comments on Uyghurs, China is & # 39; best friend & # 39;

Speaking about the Chinese government's treatment of the Uyghurs (an indigenous Muslim population), he said he had not talked about the issue in his talks with government representatives.

"Frankly, we've been facing so many internal problems right now that I don't … don't know much about this problem," he said. "Since we have been in power for a year, we have really been flooded with problems. But I will say one thing about China: for us, China has been the best friend."

"Right now, my responsibility is the people of Pakistan. I have 210-220 million Pakistanis for whom I am responsible. Therefore, my number one effort is to help my own countrymen," he said.

On Baldev Kumar accusing the PTI government of mistreating minorities in Pakistan, he said: "If I remember correctly, this is the type responsible for murdering one of our most beloved members of our party and parliamentarian Soran Singh. He was in our KP assembly and this man was responsible for killing him.

"I don't know where he is now, but the last thing I know is that he was in jail. For him to say something like that, let me clarify one thing: since my government came to power, we have … this government has promised that every citizen , regardless of his religion, he will be an equal citizen. "

He then went on to describe the efforts made so far in this regard.

"Our government opened the Kartarpur Corridor, made great efforts for the Sikh community to open their religious sites. We will open all religious sites of all different religions, such as Hindus, Sikh religion, the Christian community."

"My government will protect them all. And I will only say one more thing: if minorities are mistreated in Pakistan, that goes against our Constitution, it is against our religion, it is against the principles of our Holy Prophet (PBUH ) because minorities were always considered equal citizens in Islam. So, when we are unfair to them, we go against our ideology and religion. "

He also said that the difference between Pakistan and what the RSS-backed BJP government is doing in India is that "when they abuse their minorities, it is in accordance with their ideology. They do not believe that minorities are equal citizens."

Repression against the media is a myth

"This is completely absurd," the prime minister said when asked about a space that is reportedly rapidly shrinking for dissent and an offensive against the media.

Pakistan is one of the freest places in the world when it comes to media freedom, he insisted.

"Members of the media have said things against me and against the government. They would never have escaped under any other democracy. They made personal attacks against me. If there had been another democracy, the television channels would have closed. The freedom that journalists have in this country is unprecedented.

"This is one of the most tolerant governments in history. Although we believe we have gone out of line. We believe that we will strengthen our regulatory body," he said.

What's new in & # 39; New Pakistan & # 39 ;?

"I think we are already in a new Pakistan. & # 39; New Pakistan & # 39; means rule of law. Never before have mega criminals been imprisoned as now," he said.

"The big difference in this Pakistan: we have been here for 13 months and there has not been a single case of corruption against any minister; this was (previously) unheard of. None of us is building our commercial empires."

"But most importantly, this government is returning power immediately. The difference between now and then is that, for the first time, we are making the most difficult decisions to fix our economy," the prime minister said.

"This government has done things that no government has done before. But as they say: & # 39; Rome was not built in a day & # 39; when you start making these changes and massive reforms, it takes time, time to judge A government is after five years.

"In our case, we feel we have gone through the most difficult period. The first year was the most difficult period. From now on, people will begin to see the difference."