‘Selected PM’ can’t fight for Kashmir cause: Bilawal

SKARDU: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Sunday said no selected prime minister could fight for the Kashmir cause the way a democracy-friendly premier could.

Addressing a press conference here, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan had exposed himself to the whole nation by taking a U-turn on every promise he had made. He said every slogan raised by Imran Khan had proved a lie. He said Modi should enter Srinagar if he could adding that if the people of Kashmir were with him then he should show it to the whole world.

Bilawal said there was no comparison between the military occupation of Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) and the undermining of democracy and human rights in Pakistan. Nonetheless, he said, if Pakistan had been investing in democracy and a third real [democratically elected] government was in power, they could fight for the Kashmir cause with moral authority.

Bilawal said it was important that he raised his voice for Kashmir at every possible opportunity while also seeing the reaction of people. He said Pakistanis knew that a historic injustice was taking place in the IHK and that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a murderer.

He said people also knew that Prime Minister Imran Khan did not have the capability or legitimacy to ensure rights for the people of IHK. Bilawal asked how the premier could talk about injustice and media restrictions in the IHK when he had imposed historic media restrictions in his own country.

“How can he speak about restrictions on human rights in the IHK when he has restricted human rights in Pakistan? How can he speak about democracy there when he has led the funeral of democracy in his is own country?” he asked.

Responding to a question about India’s top opposition leaders including former Congress President Rahul Gandhi being sent back after they landed in Srinagar on Saturday, Bilawal said this was very unfortunate.

“What are they hiding from him? If everything is transparent and rights are being granted and they are doing good things [...] then why have you stopped the opposition leader of the country?”

He said while the politics of Pakistan and India was different, there were similarities regarding the democratic and undemocratic approaches used.