Monitoring Desk
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that India has violated all the eleven resolutions passed in the United Nations Security on Kashmir besides negating the spirit of Simla agreement and its own resolution.
“The UN resolutions say that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the people of Kashmir have the right to self determination,” he said while addressing the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
The highlight of his more than 45-minute-long speech was intense criticism of India for its annexation of occupied Kashmir and the continued restrictions imposed eight million people in the valley.
Live: Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan addressing the United Nations General Assembly's 74th Session.#ImranKhanVoiceOfKashmir #UNGA #UNGA74 #PMIKInUSA https://t.co/n7D0533xro
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) September 27, 2019
The Prime Minister opened his wide-ranging, at times apparently extemporaneous speech by saying he feels honoured to represent Pakistan at the world forum.
He said that the total number of security forces in Kashmir are 900,000 and they put eight million people of occupied Kashmir under curfew.
“What kind of people bring in 900,000 troops for eight million people? These are human beings,” said Prime Minister Imran to applause from the audience.
“What comes with Aryan superiority is arrogance and it makes people commit mistakes and do stupid, cruel things like what Modi has done.
“It is arrogance that has blinded Modi. Has he thought about what will happen after the curfew in Kashmir is lifted?
“What will he do? Does he think the people of Kashmir will quietly accept the status quo?”
He said that the answer to how anyone can do something like this lies in the RSS ideology followed by Modi.
“They believe in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims. They believe a golden age of Hindu rule was stopped by Muslims and then the British occupation.
“(Nearly) 100,000 Kashmiris have died in the past 30 years because they were denied their right of self-determination. Eleven thousand women were raped.
“The world hasn’t done anything.
“What is going to happen will be a blood bath. The people will come out.
“Has he thought it through what happens then? Has anyone thought what happens when there is a bloodbath?
“What do you think they (Kashmiris) will think of the way they have been boxed in?”
He noted that even pro-India local leaders were taken out of Kashmir as part of the crackdown and 13,000 boys were picked up and taken to unknown locations.
“What will the people do then? [They will] take to the streets. The soldiers will then shoot them. They have already used pellet guns.
“And so Kashmiris will be further radicalised. There will be another Pulwama. And they (India) will blame us.
“They are already blaming us. They said we have 500 terrorists lined up to go in.
“Why would we send 500 terrorists when there are 900,000 troops?
“There will only be further cruelty on Kashmiris. It will give them the excuse to chant on the mantra of Islamic terrorism.
“The whole world then turns away.
“How do we (Pakistan) benefit from further increasing cruelty on the people of Kashmir?”
Prime Minister Imran said there is no other narrative left for India. “Whatever happens we will be blamed.
“What does Modi think the 180 million Muslims of India are thinking? Aren’t they watching these Kashmiris stuck in?
“Don’t you think they too will be radicalised? Then there will be blame on us again.
“What about the 1.3bn Muslims watching this who know this is only happening because they are Muslims? What do you think they would think?
“What would the Jews of Europe think if 8,000 Jews were stuck. Are we children of a lesser God?
“Among the 1.3bn (Muslims) someone will pick up arms,” he said, citing the analogy of a Hollywood film.
“Muslims will become radicals because of this, not because of Islam. Because they see no justice.
“I have pictured myself locked up for 55 days. There are rapes, soldiers going into rooms.
“Would I want to let this humiliation continue? I would pick up a gun.”
“You are forcing people into radicalisation,” he said, addressing the Indian leadership.
“This is one of the most critical times. There will be a reaction to this and Pakistan will be blamed.
“Two nuclear countries will come face to face.
“Before we head there the UN has a responsibility; this is why the UN came into being in 1945. You were supposed to stop this from happening.
“I feel like we are back in 1939 [when] Czechoslovakia was annexed.
“Is the international community going to appease or stand up for justice or humanity.
“If a conventional war starts between the two countries, supposing a country seven times smaller is faced with a choice to surrender or fight to the end.
“When a nuclear country fights till the end it has consequences far beyond the borders.
“This is a test of the UN. You are the one who guaranteed the Kashmiris the right (of self-determination).
“This is the time not to appease but to take action.”
He said the very first action that India needs to take is to lift the curfew in occupied Kashmir and then release all detained prisoners.
“And then the world community must give the Kashmiris the right of self-determination,” the prime minister stressed.
Besides highlighting the agonies of the people of the Indian Occupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan dilated upon the issues like climate change, money laundering and Islamophobia.
He noted that Pakistan is in the top ten list of countries who are most affected by climate change.
“We depend on our rivers and 80 per cent of our water comes from glaciers. The glaciers are also in India in the Himalayas, Karakorum and the Hindu Kush.
“If nothing is done, we are scared humans are facing a huge catastrophe.
He said the countries contributing to greenhouse gas emissions must be pushed and the UN must take initiative.
While talking about money laundering, he said that illicit financial flows make the countries poorer and go towards rich countries, siphoned off by the ruling elites of the western world.
“This is devastating the developing world. It is impoverishing them. The rich-poor gap is growing because of them.”
“Corrupt elites must not be allowed to park their money (abroad). Why do we have these tax havens?
“Why shouldn’t rich people pay taxes? Why are they legal, these secret accounts?
“Sooner or later there will be a crisis if the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer, Imran Khan warned.
Talking about the prevalence of Islamophobia, Prime Minister Imran said it has grown at an alarming pace.
“Islamophobia is creating divisions, hijab is becoming a weapon; a woman can take off clothes but she can’t put on more clothes.
“It started after 9/11 and it started because certain western leaders equated Islam with terrorism.
He questioned the use of the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ saying: “There is only one Islam.
“What message does this (the term) send? How is a person in New York going to distinguish between moderate Muslims and radical Muslims?
“This radical Islamic terrorism used by leaders has caused Islamophobia and has caused pain for Muslims.
“In European countries it is marginalising Muslims, and this leads to radicalisation.
“Some of the terrorists were from marginalised Muslim communities. We Muslim leaders have not addressed this issue.
“The basis of all religions is compassion and justice which differentiates us from the animal kingdom.
“The Muslim leaders all became moderates and our government coined a phrase ‘enlightened moderation’.
