NEW YORK: Pointing out that the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir is “very, very turbulent”, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has warned of a serious threat of escalation of tensions with India, saying that this includes the looming possibility that the two countries could turn to their strategic arsenals should a fight erupt.
“That risk is always there,” Ambassador Masood Khan told Newsweek in an interview, as Kashmiris, Pakistanis and their supporters observed “Kashmir Black Day” on Thursday.
“Pakistan and India are nuclear weapons states and the situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is very, very turbulent,” he added. The “Black Day” marks the anniversary of India’s massive invasion and occupation of Jammu and Kashmir on 27 October 1947.
That Indian aggression led to the first Indo-Pakistani war, but since then the two nations have fought three more major conflicts with even more frequent clashes occurring across the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.
While ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have fluctuated over the years, Newsweek said they’ve been particularly strained since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dissolved India-administered Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in August of 2019 and ordered a crackdown to stem three-decade of uprising.
Now, Masood Khan said the situation “is deteriorating” as he accused India of orchestrating population transfers to settle Hindus into the majority-Muslim region and of committing an array of human rights violations.
But even as the situation approached a critical point, he called for both bilateral and international mediation to improve ties with New Delhi and avoid further escalation.
“It is the responsibility of the two countries to come to a peace table to resolve outstanding issues,” the ambassador said. “But the risk is that right now there is no diplomatic contact between India and Pakistan at all, no diplomatic conduit. This is perilous.”
“The two sides should be communicating and talking,” he added, “especially because of the precarious situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
The latest strife came from Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s explosive remarks that India’s aim is to implement the resolution passed in the Indian Parliament on February 22, 1994 and to reclaim remaining parts, such as Gilgit and Baltistan.
Masood Khan also rejected Indian allegations of Pakistan supporting militant group in occupied Kashmir, and portrayed the conflict as one of an unarmed people facing one of the world’s strongest militaries. He accused India of having “hubris” due to “its great power status” through which India assumes “it would get away with whatever it is doing in Kashmir.” –Agencies
