Imran slams Indian bid to frame Kashmir struggle as ‘terrorism’

Ag APP

ISLAMABAD/MIRPUR: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said India’s characterisation of the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as “terrorism being abetted by Pakistan” is a bid by New Delhi to create an opportunity for a false flag operation — an apprehension that was mirrored by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, the Prime Minister said Modi’s “RSS-inspired doctrine” on Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir is “very clear”. “First, deprive Kashmiris of their right of self determination by illegal annexation of an occupied territory.

“Second, treat them as less than human by a three-pronged approach: one, trying to crush them with brute force including using inhumane weapons like pellet guns against women and children; two, imposing an inhumane lockdown depriving Kashmiris of basic necessities from food to medicines; and three, by mass arrests of Kashmiris especially youth and isolating IOJK from the world by cutting off all communication links.

“Third, by trying to show Kashmiris’ right to struggle for self determination guaranteed in UNSC resolutions as terrorism being abetted by Pakistan — to create opportunity for a false flag operation against Pak while detracting world attention away from Indian state terrorism in IOJK.”

Meanwhile, AJK President Sardar Masood Khan said an Indian attack on Azad Kashmir “cannot be ruled out” as it was being publicly threatened by the Indian political and military officials — as well as Prime Minister Modi and his defence minister in their press conferences.

“We are prepared and the armed forces of Pakistan are prepared, the nation of Pakistan and people in Azad Kashmir are prepared to frustrate any evil designs of India,” he told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, the AJK Presidential Secretariat said in a statement.

The AJK President said along with the threats of Indian rulers to attack the liberated territory, “we see that 900,000 Indian troops are busy in massacring the Kashmiri youth in the occupied territory”.

He said the occupation army has stepped up violations of the ceasefire agreement on the Line of Control, and now a campaign based on false allegations has been launched “to create an environment of war against Pakistan”.

He said: “There are some rumblings that India is planning something. It has been killing Kashmiris since January this year. But after Covid-19 it accelerated the pace of killings of young men. They have accelerated the ceasefire violations, and they have started crafting lies.”

The AJK president rejected Indian allegations against Pakistan about the launching of any militant outfit to fight the Indian army in occupied Kashmir. He also dismissed the Indian claims about “sending 350 militants in addition to 250 of those already present” in occupied Kashmir.

President Khan said a few days ago the heads of Indian army and its intelligence agency met the Indian national security adviser and they have “hatched a conspiracy against Pakistan”.

Responding to a question, Sardar Masood Khan described as the worst madness and ridiculous the Indian allegation that Pakistan is intruding Covid-19 patients into occupied Kashmir. “This insane Indian allegation is laughable. They are saying that Pakistan is pushing some 10 Covid-19 patients to Azad Kashmir and then AJK is pushing these Covid-19 patients into the occupied territory.

“You cannot expect a Covid-19 patient travelling with a bunch of people and cross those high altitudes. And by the time they cross the fence and reach Kashmir, will they be in a position to play some role against those military divisions deployed there? This is a leaf directly taken from the Goebbels playbook, who was the propaganda minister of Hitler.”

He then warned that “if you tell a lie frequently, people would start believing it”. “And this is what they are telling many other lies and the purpose is to convince their Hindutva zealots, that Muslims are up to no good that they even in these circumstances, they are trying to target the people of Jammu and Kashmir with a virus,” he added.