Imran Khan at the UN alludes to possible India-Pakistan nuclear war over Kashmir

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan raised the Kashmir issue in his maiden address to the U.N. General Assembly, demanding that India lift the “inhuman curfew” in the state and release all “political prisoners."

In his nearly 45-minute speech on Sept. 26, exceeding the time limit of 15 to 20 minute, Khan devoted half of his address to the Kashmir issue, warning that if there was a face-off between two nuclear-armed neighbors, the consequences would be far beyond their borders.

Drumming up a hysteria about a nuclear war, between the two countries, he said India ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, flouting 11 resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, the Shimla agreement and its own Constitution.

“Two nuclear-armed countries will come face to face, like we came in February,” he said, alluding to the stand-off between the two nations following the Pulwama terror attack on an Indian police convoy and India’s subsequent air strikes on terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan.

“What is the world community going to do? Is it going to appease a market of 1.2 billion, or is it going to stand up for justice and humanity,” the Pakistani Prime Minister asked, in an apparent reference to America and other countries looking for a share of India’s huge and lucrative market.

Khan said the international community must give the people of Kashmir the right to self-determination. He also warned that once the curfew is lifted, “there will be a reaction” and India would blame Pakistan.”

Earlier this week, he claimed in New York that Islamabad wanted to have a relationship with India based on mutual trust, but that New Delhi has not been responsive to Pakistan’s overture.

Khan said he had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering to have a “new chapter” in bilateral relationship and to reset the ties, but the Indian Prime Minister only talked about terrorism. Khan claimed it is Islamabad’s policy not to allow any militant group to operate in Pakistan and they have been dismantled from day one of his government.

“The problem we have is that the two countries didn’t trust each other. Our foreign ministers were supposed to meet last year in the UNGA, and suddenly they were cancelled. We thought they don’t want to get closer because of the Indian elections, because BJP is a nationalist party and one of their agenda is, they’re hard on Pakistan. So, we stayed back. Then, of course, Pulwama happened, where this Kashmiri boy blew himself on an Indian convoy,” Khan claimed during a conversation with Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations in New York September 23.

Khan’s statement came in response to the question by Haass how one takes this relationship between two nuclear-armed rivals that have a history of conflict, and how does one make sure the future doesn’t resemble the past.

At the CFR event also, Khan drew the attention of Haass to the situation in Kashmir where he claimed eight million Kashmiris for 50 days have been shut inside their homes and New Delhi has reneged on international laws.

“Kashmir was a disputed territory between Pakistan and India. The U.N. Security Council had given the people of Kashmir the right of self-determination, which was never given to them. Now, how do we start talking to anyone? How can we speak to India, ” the Pakistani Prime Minster said.

“At least what I expect the international community to do is to ask them to lift the curfew. It’s inhuman. It’s a violation of every humanitarian right of the people of Kashmir, he said ahead of his UNGA address.