Expected world to react more on Kashmir, says Imran Khan; Pakistan PM concedes defeat after international embarrassment

Islamabad: Conceding his defeat after failing to get “expected” support from the international community over Kashmir issue, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that India has made Kashmir a part of the country after the abrogation of Article-370. In an exclusive interview to Russia Today that aired on Friday, Khan said: “India has annexed Kashmir, so it is no longer a disputed territory as far as India is concerned. They have made it a part of India.” [caption id=“attachment_7277201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Imran Khan. Twitter@PTIofficial[/caption] “Sadly, I would have expected the world to react much more than it has,” said Khan, while accusing the Indian government of violating the Simla agreement. Khan has further claimed that trade and markets have blocked and prevented the world to react over the Kashmir issue. The Pak Prime Minister also vented his frustration by launching attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government and RSS. Reiterating his threat of a possible nuclear war between India and Pakistan, Khan said, “The fact is what India is doing in Kashmir is going to have consequence way beyond the borders of India, way beyond the subcontinent. This is now going to become a nuclear hotspot. If it becomes the flashpoint of conflict between India and Pakistan, this will be the first time the two nuclear arm country comes face to face.” When asked whether he is planning to raise the Kashmir issue in United Nations General Assembly, Khan said he would apprise the world and countries about the condition in India. A few days back, Pakistan interior minister Brig Ijaz Ahmed Shah had made similar remarks that Islamabad has failed to get support from the international community over its stand on Kashmir issue. Shah blamed Pakistan “ruling elite” including Khan for “destroying” the image of the country. Ijaz’s remarks came a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, during a UNHRC session in Geneva, claimed that India has transformed Jammu and Kashmir into the largest “caged prison in this planet” after the abrogation of Article 370. India had rejected Qureshi’s allegations and had hit back saying a “fabricated narrative” on Jammu and Kashmir has come from “the epicentre of global terrorism” and from a nation, which conducts cross-border terrorism as a form of ‘alternate diplomacy’. Islamabad has been left red-faced after its desperate attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue fell flat. The country has found itself isolated after being snubbed at the United Nations, as well as by countries like the United States, France, and Russia. India’s decision has been hailed internationally with several countries calling the move as India’s internal matter even as Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the issue. Islamabad has found itself completely isolated despite desperate attempts aimed at internationalising the issue. Pakistan has approached various world leaders, including Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Jordanian King Abdullah II to seek their interventions into the issue, but in vain. However, Pakistan has been told to engage bilaterally with India to end tensions. India has repeatedly made it clear that talks with Pakistan are only possible after Islamabad stops sponsoring terror.