Imran Khan: Normalization with India Betrayal of Kashmir Struggle

Islamabad, MINA – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out normalizing relations with India, saying such a move would betray the struggle of the Kashmiri people.

“Ignoring all their (Kashmir) struggles and the more than 100,000 Kashmiris who were martyred,” Khan said in a question and answer session with the public as quoted by Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

Khan also admitted that if the normalization of relations with India took place, Pakistan’s trade would increase.

“There is no doubt that our trade will increase but all their blood (of Kashmiris) will be wasted, so this cannot happen,” he stressed.

Therefore, Khan required, normalization talks could only be continued if New Delhi canceled the revocation of the special region status that had been granted to the Kashmir region.

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The Indian government led by Narendra Modi on August 5, 2019 revoked Law 370 which granted special regional status to Kashmir and Jammu.

Since then, the Indian government has imposed sweeping restrictions on Kashmir, from curfews to communication blackouts, as well as enacting new laws that have sparked a climate of fear for Kashmiris.

Pakistan condemned India’s move and eventually suspended trade relations and downgraded diplomatic relations with New Delhi until now.

According to Al Jazeera, reports emerged that top intelligence officials from the two nuclear-armed neighbors met in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January this year in a bid to stem the escalating tensions between the two sides.

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Last month, the UAE envoy to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, stressed that his country was mediating between India and Pakistan to help the nuclear-armed rival achieve a “healthy and functional” relationship.

In February, the Indian and Pakistani soldiers announced the sudden affirmation of a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border that divides Kashmir.

A few days later, Pakistan’s Military Commander, General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on India to “bury the past” and move towards cooperation.

Last month, Khan and Modi also exchanged letters calling for peace and good relations” between the two neighbours. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)