Indian use of force cannot stop Kashmir movement: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said India's move to end special status of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir was not interest-driven, but was based on an ideology of “Hindu racism and Hindu supremacy”.

Talking to senior journalists here at the PM Office, Imran Khan said India’s measures towards ethnic cleansing reminded one of Hitler’s Nazism.

He said the move by India was triggered following the offer of mediation by US President Donald Trump in his meeting at the White House.

He said the ongoing indigenous movement in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir was the result of years of oppression and failure of the Indian government to win the hearts and minds of the people of Kashmir.

He termed the Indian move a "historic blunder", and said on the contrary it would give a new impetus to the indigenous freedom struggle.

He said Pakistan anticipated that after lifting of curfew, situation in the Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) could rapidly deteriorate and there might be a false flag operation, to blame Pakistan.

"The whole world is waiting to see what happens to oppressed Kashmiris in IOK when curfew is lifted. Does the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government think by using greater military force against Kashmiris in IOK, it will stop the freedom movement? Chances are it will gain momentum," Imran Khan said in a tweet issued after meeting the newsmen.

Imran Khan asked the international community to play its part in addressing the situation and help avert the "genocide of the Kashmiris".

"What should be obvious is the int(ernational) community will be witnessing the genocide of the Kashmiris in IOK.

"Question is: Will we watch another appeasement of fascism, this time in the garb of BJP government, or will the int community have the moral courage to stop this from happening?"

In his talk with the media, the prime minister said the situation in the occupied Kashmir was the outcome of pursuing of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) ideology of "Hindu supremacy", which believed that the Christians and Muslims were invaders. It had  proved the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who believed in the Two-Nation Theory, he added.

Imran Khan said Pakistan would exercise all options, including approaching the international fora like the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council and International Court of Justice. The government was also taking up the issue with all the world capitals.

He said even the saner elements in India were voicing their concerns and describing the attempt of annexation of Jammu and Kashmir as a "historical mistake".

The prime minister said the issue could not be resolved through war as war between the two nuclear states would be disastrous. Once a war started, it would be beyond anyone's control, he added.

He said an attempt to change the demographics of the Indian occupied Kashmir was a violation of the Article 49 of the Geneva Convention. The United Nations, he added, was also fully aware of the human rights violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and had noticed the grave human rights violations in the held valley.