Kashmir will now head towards freedom: PM hopes

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed the hope that Kashmir will now head towards freedom as Indian designs to crush the Kashmiri people through unilateral actions of August 5 last year have also failed.

“They (India) decided to crush the Kashmiris on August 5, 2019, who rather stood more resolute and firm. They (India) cannot suppress the Kashmiri people for long,” the prime minister said talking to a private television channel (Hum News) on Friday night after addressing a public gathering in Kotli in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day.

Imran Khan said no one could suppress a population for long as evident from history. When a nation decides to achieve freedom, no force can oppress them, he added

He said the world had understood the seriousness of Kashmir issue, which was raised at international level, including the United Nations Security Council. “That is why I am hopeful, it will now move towards freedom,” he reiterated.

Commenting about the revelations of EU DisinfoLab, the prime minister said India had a clout abroad for being a big country and market. It tried to isolate Pakistan but contrarily, the country had got unprecedented international acceptability as compared to the past.

To a question, the prime minister said he was unsure whether the Biden administration would indulge in the mediation of Kashmir dispute, as offered by his predecessor Donald Trump.

However, he added, the sanity had prevailed in the world vis-à-vis the issue. After 50 years, the issue was discussed by the UNSC thrice, which showed that it had become an international issue.

He said it was now difficult for India to prolong its atrocities as the world was witnessing the situation. Pakistan had offered talks to India provided it restored the Article 370 to revive the special status of the territory.

About the opposition’s criticism, Imran Khan said he would be turned good for them if he gave them an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) in their corruption cases.

He said the opposition parties could hold a long march but the people would never take to streets to protect their corruption. In Lebanon, South America and Iraq, the people took to the streets against the corruption of their leaders, not to protect that, he remarked.

Referring to the Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif, he said having laundered public money, he was sitting abroad along with his sons, nephews and brother-in-law, and expected the people in Pakistan to protest for him.

He said the government would try to bring Nawaz Sharif back as there were international laws allowing that, though the extradition was a lengthy process.

He said the people were aware of the government’s efforts to turn around the economic situation, which were also coming to fruition in the form of boost in exports and textile industry.

The people, he said, also knew that the incumbent government had inherited the a debt-burdened country.

About the opposition’s refusal to accept Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed as head of the Broadsheet committee, he said they were habitual of accepting only their favourite judges.