PM rules out talks with India till lifting of curfew in IOK

NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday brushed aside the possibility of any talks between Pakistan and India unless and until the latter lifted curfew in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).

“Unless and until they lift curfew, there is no chance of talking with India,” Imran Khan told a press conference here. To a question about the possibility of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of ongoing 74th United Nations General Assembly session, he said before August 5, Pakistan tried everything and he himself spoke to Prime Minister Modi but sadly there was no positive response from the other side. But after August 5, there was no point in talking with India, he added.

The prime minister described the August 5 unilateral and illegal Indian action - which eliminated the special status of an internationally accepted disputed territory by revoking Article 370 of their constitution and the continued oppression as just a beginning, saying the situation would worsen.

Imran Khan said he feared change of demography by India in the occupied piece of land [IOJ&K] and also feared massacre of Kashmiris by 900,000 Indian troops after lifting of curfew. He said he was in New York to highlight what was going on in the IOJ&K and the potential it had for the two nuclear armed countries coming face to face.

The blockade of eight million people in the IOJ&K by 900,000 Indian troops, he said, was unprecedented and inhuman. Expressing his disappointment over the international community’s attitude, the prime minister said the United Nations Security Council resolutions, which promised the resolution of dispute through a plebiscite for the Kashmiris to exercise their right of self-determination, had been pending for the last 70 years.

“I am a bit disappointed by international community,” he said and questioned what would be the reaction of world if eight million Europeans, Jews or even eight Americans were put under siege.

He highlighted the deteriorating situation in the IOJ&K and urged the world as well as the United Nations to intervene and help address the issue by saying, “Now it is the time for the UN and the world to act.”

The prime minister thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for raising the issue of Kashmir during his speech at the UN General Assembly. He said the Turkish president would be visiting Pakistan next month.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said Pakistan was trying to mediate on the situation in Middle East and he had also contacted the Iranian leadership in that respect. “Yes I spoke to President Hassan Rouhani of Iran yesterday. We are trying to mediate. I cannot say more about it,” Imran Khan told a news conference.

When asked as if United States President Donald Trump had asked him for mediation, the prime minister said before his meeting with the US president he was also asked by the Saudi leadership to talk to the Iranian president. He said he did not believe that conflicts could help resolve anything.

He in this context also referred to the situation in Afghanistan and said that Pakistan was trying to get the US-Taliban talks resumed.

Prime Minister Imran Khan met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of 74th session of the UN General Assembly and thanked the Iranian leadership for expressing unequivocal support for the Kashmiri people and their legitimate rights.

Both sides reviewed their bilateral relations and discussed regional developments, a PM House statement issued here Tuesday said. The prime minister underscored Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen good neighbourly relations with Iran and build mutually beneficial cooperation in diverse areas. He thanked the Iranian leadership, especially Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for expressing unequivocal support for the Kashmiri people and their legitimate rights.

The prime minister also discussed the current situation in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, created by India’s unilateral and illegal actions that pose a grave risk to regional peace and security.

Speaking on the gross human rights violations in IOJ&K, the Prime Minister emphasised the urgent need to lift curfew and other restrictions imposed on Kashmiri population for 50 days.

Both sides agreed to fast track implementation of the bilateral agreements, concluded during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Iran, earlier this year.

Prime Minister Imran Khan met Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy on the sidelines of 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York and briefed him on the legal, humanitarian and peace and security dimension of the situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, a PM House statement issued here said.

The prime minister called for the immediate lifting of all restrictions including the curfew, release of all prisoners, stop in the use of pellet guns, and respect for the human rights of Kashmiri people.

He also underlined the importance of the international community acting urgently to ward off threats to peace and security and facilitate peaceful resolution of the dispute in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the bilateral context the two sides agreed to enhance mutual cooperation in the political, trade and economic, defence production, cultural and educational domains.