Pakistan media simply ignored 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston, instead blamed India for 'diverting' world attention from Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at Pakistan for its support to terrorism while making a strong pitch against terrorism at the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in the presence of US president Donald Trump. The prime minister said that India’s decision to nullify Article 370 has caused trouble to those who cannot handle their own country as he called for a decisive battle against terrorism. While Pakistani media has so far stayed mum on the event, Monday’s editorials and op-eds continued to the narrative of targetting the Indian government over its decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Most Pakistani dailies editorial pages ignored Narendra Modi’s massive rally in Houston. Dawn Pakistan’s leading English newspaper, Dawn, carried an editorial titled: ‘Kashmir & Militancy’, took an indirect dig at the rally blaming India of ‘diverting the world’s attention’ from ‘atrocities’ the Indian government is allegedly committing in Kashmir. The article also applauded Prime Minister Imran Khan of taking steps to show the world that Pakistan is serious about ’not letting its soil be used by militants’. It also spoke about how Imran Khan’s comments were praised by Washington with American officials applauding Khan for his comments on fighting terrorism in Pakistan.

Pakistan Today Pakistan Today’s column titled, ‘Do Kashmiris have a legal right to armed resistance?’ slams India’s decision to scrap Article 370 and called India’s legislative history of Jammu and Kashmir as ‘an unfortunate tale of lie, deceit and betrayal.’ The article further alleged that the Kashmir dispute is ‘a nuclear flashpoint in South Asia’. It called on the international community to stand in solidarity with the Kashmiri people. “A single miscalculation from either side would horrify the generations to come.”

The Express Tribune “There are no good or bad strategies only good or bad influences and Prime Minister Modi’s promotion of the extreme ideology of Hindutva has unfolded a Kashmir strategy that only seeks and bleeds trouble.”, said The Express Tribune’s opinion piece headlined, ‘Kashmir looking up to Trump and UN General Assembly’.

The article discussed how India’s current strategy on Kashmir is allegedly ‘provocative’ and how it will lead to confrontation with not only Kashmiris but also Pakistan. The article urged Donald Trump to ask India for ‘peace talks’ and ‘crisis diplomacy’.