Imran addresses AJK assembly, says I will be Kashmir ambassador

Tariq Butt, Staff Reporter

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan told the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi has made a strategic blunder (by annexing the occupied Kashmir, and he has played his final card).

"They have internationalised Kashmir. It used to be very hard to speak about Kashmir,” Imran said while addressing the AJK Assembly in Muzaffarabad. He came there as part of the government's decision to observe the 73rd Independence Day in solidarity with Kashmiris in light of India's move to annex occupied Kashmir.

The prime minister said he will take the Kashmir cause forward. "I’ll become the voice for Kashmir. I will be Kashmir’s ambassador.”

Imran Khan addresses the AJK legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad to mark the country's Independence Day on Wednesday. AFP

He underscored that the world was not fully aware of India’s atrocities in Kashmir but he will make it a point to tell the world of the brutalities that take place in the region.

Terming India’s decision to revoke Article 370 a “strategic blunder,” he said that the move will cost New Delhi heavily.

CEASEFIRE-LINE

In his address, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider announced that his government will soon issue a notification renaming the Line of Control (LoC) to ceasefire-line.

Speaking of Kashmiri leaders, Imran said those who used to be pro-India, such as Farooq Abdullah, are now in agreement with Quaid-e-Azam's two-nation theory.

Imran Khan prays for Indian Kashmiri Muslims before his address to the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad. AFP

Agreeing with the AJK prime minister, Imran said that this will not stop in Kashmir — this will come towards Pakistan. "We have information and we have had two National Security Committee (NSC) meetings. The Pakistan army has full knowledge. India has made a plan to take action in AJK.”

"You take action and this is my message: every brick will be countered with a stone,” Imran said addressing Modi. "We will respond to whatever you do, we will go till the end."

OUR MESSAGE

Imran said that Modi had declared that his government would bring prosperity to Kashmir by revoking Article 370, likening it to how Adolf Hitler used to speak. "Listen to the speeches of Jawaharlal Nehru, the promises he made to Kashmiris — they have all been rejected. Our message to international organisations that were formed to prevent wars is that if this war takes place, you will be responsible."

Women shout anti-Indian slogans as they take part in Independence Day celebrations in Karachi on Wednesday. AFP

He said that the whole world, including the entire Muslim population in the world, was looking towards the United Nations. "You will see the numbers in which the public will come out during the United Nations General Assembly in September. Whatever was done during the curfew by India, we will tell the international community that you are responsible. Whichever forum we get, I will be the ambassador and bring up Kashmir at every forum," he said, adding: "We hope that after this final card that Modi has played, now Kashmir will go towards independence."

'TEACH YOU A LESSON'

Imran asked Modi not to be under any misconception. "Kashmiris have become battle-hardened. Their fear is gone. We saw how they came out in BBC [report]. "Modi, you can't enslave Kashmiris and as for Pakistan, we will teach you a lesson if you carry out your intentions in AJK.”

In a series of tweets, Imran unveiled the "real face of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the world."

TERRIFYING IDEOLOGY

"There is a terrifying ideology in front of us today — the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party's ideology, which Modi has been a member of from childhood. In this ideology, like the Nazis, the ethnic cleansing of Muslims from India was also included. If you understand this ideology, a lot of things can be understood. Quaid-e-Azam rose above a person's religion; he was thinking about every person's independence after the British left. In the past five years, the cruelty in occupied Kashmir was due to this ideology. This card [revoking Article 370] played by Modi was the final solution," he said, referring to India's move to downgrade occupied Kashmir’s status. We are all fearful about what we will find out once the curfew is lifted in occupied Kashmir.

Imran Khan listens to the national anthem as he arrives at the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad. AFP

What are they attempting to do? Now the world's eye is on Kashmir and on Pakistan. I will be the ambassador who raises Kashmir's voice. We need to inform the world of RSS's ideology. After 1945, the United Nations, the Geneva Convention were created. The world decided that this should never happen in the world again. The world doesn't know that the RSS ideology is as dangerous [as Nazi ideology]. A normal person cannot make the type of statements being made about the women of Kashmir," said Prime Minister Imran. This [RSS] ideology has undermined the constitution of India. They [BJP government] have controlled the media.

Opposition leaders are speaking with fear. RSS thugs do not let people attend conferences, judges are scared of them. This used to happen in Nazi Germany. Intellectuals are scared of speaking about the government. They [BJP] are taking India towards destruction. People are living in fear in India."