India-China standoff is because of recent Indian actions in Kashmir: AJK president

KARACHI: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan has suggested that Pakistan should hold joint military exercises with China and keep its armed forces ready for a fully-fledged war as India could engage in any misadventure to save its face after the stand-off with China in Ladakh.

He also said that the present dispute between India and China had arisen just because of the recent actions of the former in Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK).Khan was speaking as one of the panellists during a live webinar, titled ‘India-China Stand-Off at Ladakh & Its Impacts on Kashmir Issue’, hosted by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR).

The AJK president explained that before the last Indian elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had threatened to occupy Kashmir and Siachen and in fact, it was a direct threat to Pakistan and China.

“China has never compromised on its sovereignty and it did so. Pakistan should further strengthen its relations with China and should have joint exercises of armed forces along with having offensive diplomacy,” he said. “Both the countries should complement their strength. China has a good number of friends in the world and Pakistan should also increase the number of its friend countries.”

He was of the view that China never wanted to engage in war with India. He said United States President Donald Trump’s offer for mediation between India and China was not something serious. “This was similar to China offering mediation on the conflict between the US and Mexico. The US will never come to the rescue of India if the situation turns worse.”Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who is also the chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that India could not fight with China but it could make its people fool by engaging in any misadventure like it did in Ladakh. “India can do this [again] in the next few months or maybe in September, so we should be ready for it,” he said.

After being defeated by China, India was now trying to test Pakistan, said Syed. “The US needs the support of Pakistan for the peace process in Afghanistan and it will not take any step to weaken Pakistan which will ultimately affect this peacebuilding process,” he maintained.

“It is now clear that attacks on the Karachi Stock Exchange and other terrorist activities in Pakistan are mastered by RAW,” he said. “We are already engaged in a hybrid warfare and we have to enhance our skills in it further.”

KCFR Chairman Imran Sehgal showed a banner “Kashmiri lives matter” and said that it was important to show such slogans to the world that were similar to the “Black lives matter”. The lives of innocent Kashmiris are also important, he said, adding that the martyr Burhan Wani had become a symbol of the independence movement of IoK.

Recalling his career, Sehgal said he was part of a flying operation in the Karakoram belt some 50 years ago and knew that it was a very important strategic position.

“India already threatened to disturb China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), however, Pakistan should strengthen itself to face the situation,” he said.

Ambassador Mustafa Kamal Qazi said India received no support from the world in the recent dispute. Commodore (retd) Sadeed Malik and academic Dr Huma Baqai also spoke in the webinar.