MUZAFFARABAD:President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Sardar Masood KhanMonday expressed fear that after failure in so-called preemptive strikes inAJK, Indian Prime Minister Narendera Modi might carry out Gujrat like riotsin Kashmir to satisfy his people to achieve desired goals in upcomingelections.
Talking to APP, he said that Kashmir was core issue between India andPakistan.
Masood Khan was of the view that now the world was concerned about Kashmirbecause they consider deteriorating situation in Kashmir a threat toregional security, adding that the world was looking at the situationthrough the prism of nuclear escalation and security paradigm.
Criticizing Narendra Modi of his tacit approval to the deadly riots inGujrat state of India in 90s, the president said that Modi had not beencharged or convicted for these accusations.He expressed his apprehensions that a similar kind of atmosphere was beingcreated in Kashmir in the wake of Pulwama attack.
“My fear is that in the aftermath of the current tension, when the worldlooks the other way, the Indian government might start a massacre inoccupied Jammu and Kashmir, which must be averted at all cost,” he stressed.
To a question about militancy in the region, Masood said Pakistan had beenfighting terrorism for the past two decades and was succeeded in breakingbackbone of terrorist outfits.
He said that whole state of Pakistan was fighting terrorism. “We would notlike to relocate these terrorist outfits to Jammu and Kashmir,” he madeclear saying in the past decade or so, the freedom movement in Kashmir wasassumed a predominantly political character.
“This is the real face of the freedom movement in Kashmir. According tohigh-ranking Indian security officials, the number of militants in Kashmiris very small.
The statistics that they issued last December said there were about 240militants there, pitting against 700,000 Indian troops,” he pointed out.“Nobody wants that the movement should be assumed a militant character.”
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“We need to raise consciousness about the unintended consequences of a warbetween Pakistan and India,” he said.Calling upon international community to avert the war between two nuclearstates, he said that the world must realize that the core issue between thetwo countries was the Kashmir conflict that must be resolved for durablepeace and stability in the region.
The global community should activate multilateral diplomacy for theimplementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on the dispute (ofKashmir) or find new ways to explore common ground for a win-win solution,Khan said.
He said that people of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned; they want theiraspirations to be respected and to be given a choice in determining theirown political future.
About the call for a boycott, disinvestment, and sanctions against India,the president said the Western countries being upholders and promoters ofhuman rights must look at Kashmir dispute through the prism of humanrights, self-determination and international humanitarian law ratherthrough the prism of their economic interests with India.
He said that Kashmiris are being killed every day. So that’s why theinternational community must mount pressure against India. Moral pressure,political, diplomatic, and they must use their economic tools to amplifythis kind of pressure.
The AJK President said America could play a very important role in defusingthe situation. “We welcome an American initiative because the regiondoesn’t afford any war.