Imran Khan Says India May Face 'Another Pulwama' in Retaliation to Article 370 Abrogation, Calls Modi Govt 'Racist'

Islamabad/New Delhi, August 6: With the Narendra Modi government scrapping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 on Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday claimed that India's latest move might result in another Pulwama. He opined that abrogation of Article 37O depicts the "racist ideology" of India, as all dialogues to establish peace with the neighbouring country were quashed by ruling Indian dispensation.

Addressing a joint session of Pakistan Parliament, Khan opined that Modi government's decision will not be able to crush the people of Kashmir. Calling the move a part of "racist mindset", the Pakistani Premier said, "What happened yesterday has only confirmed my suspicion [about India's unwillingness to talk]. This is not a decision they [the BJP] have taken out of the blue. It was part of their election manifesto all along. It is, in fact, ingrained in their ideology that puts Hindus above all other religions and seeks to establish a state that represses all other religious groups." Article 370 Abrogation From Jammu And Kashmir: UAE Backs Narendra Modi Government's Decision, Calls It India's 'Internal Matter'

Adding more, he said, "What they did in Kashmir is in accordance with their ideology. They have a racist ideology. They have violated their own country's and international laws to [uphold] their ideology."

Claiming that Pakistan will respond to Pulwama-like incident appropriately, Khan said, "With an approach of this nature, incidents like Pulwama are bound to happen again. I can already predict this will happen. They will attempt to place the blame on us again. They may strike us again, and we will strike back."

He added, "What will happen then? They will attack us and we will respond and the war can go both ways [...] But if we fight a war till we shed the last drop of our blood, who will win that war? No one will win it and it will have grievous consequences for the entire world. This is not nuclear blackmail." Farooq Abdullah Threatens to Move Court Against Scrapping of Article 370, Says 'I Have Been Put Under House Arrest'; Amit Shah Rebuts Claim.

The Pakistani Premier even mentioned that he took all the measures to initiate peace in the region, but the Indian government reacted negatively. Khan said, "All my trips to neighbouring countries were meant for this purpose. I visited Afghanistan, and asked them that we work to address our past differences. I talked to India, telling them if you take one step towards us, we will come two steps towards you. I went to Iran [with similar aims] and I visited America."

"When I first reached out to India, they expressed concerns that there were militant outfits operating from Pakistan. I told [Narendra] Modi that after the grave and painful tragedy of the Army Public School massacre, all our political parties had resolved to never let the territory of Pakistan be used for terrorist activities. But I got the feeling that the Indian side was not serious about talks. When we went to Bishkek, my suspicions regarding their unwillingness to speak was strengthened," he said.

He further added, "I soon realised that India was not interested in talking to us. They took our overtures for peace as weakness, so we stopped extending offers to hold talks." Article 370 Revoked in Jammu and Kashmir: Modi Govt's Move to Scrap Special Status Challenged in Supreme Court

Earlier, a petition has been filed by Advocate ML Sharma in the Supreme Court of India, calling the amendments made to Article 367 are "illegal" and "unconstitutional." On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday proposed to revoke the special status under Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Along with the Amendments in Article 370, Centre amended 367 and added Clause 4 under which "Constituent Assembly" was replaced with the "Legislative Assembly."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2019 06:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).