International

Pulwama attack: If India proclaims war on Pakistan, we will not think of retaliating, we will retaliate, says PM Imran Khan

FILE PHOTO.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his televised speech, addressed the allegations of India towards Pakistan with the former holding the latter responsible for the Pulwama attack that killed 49 CRPF personnel in Lethpora area along the Srinagar-Jammu highway in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

“We’re hearing voices of the media, the people, the politicians from India saying that ‘Pakistan should be taught a lesson…we should exact revenge from Pakistan…we should retaliate with a surgical strike’. First of all, which type of country or law allows any other country or person to be the judge, jury or executioner of such situations? In which realm of justice does this fall into?” he asked, via a televised video.

“Second of all, this is the year when India will undergo elections. We understand that during elections, this will be a big boost for you if Pakistan is taught a lesson. However, if you think you can proclaim war on Pakistan, Pakistan will not think of retaliating, it will retaliate,” he asserted.

“Pakistan will not see any other option in such a case except to retaliate, and after that, the direction towards which talks will go is self-explanatory. We all know starting a war is easy, it’s in a person’s hands- but not ending it,” he said. “The Almighty knows what will happen once it occurs. Therefore, I am hopeful that a better sense will prevail. We will use our logic. The problem that currently stays between us will be solved through dialogue just like in Afghanistan.”

ALSO READ: Pulwama attack: If you (India) have any actionable evidence, share it, we will take action, says Pak PM Khan

Recentlly, led by Taliban’s chief negotiator Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, ten senior officials from the group traveled to Moscow for talks with Afghan politicians.

The meeting in Moscow took place on two days, February 4 and 5, after which a joint declaration was announced by the delegates in which they outlined a nine-point approach to promote “intra-Afghan” dialogue aimed at finding a political settlement to the conflict in the country.

The Indian Army on Tuesday said that three militants, i.e, the leadership of the outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad in the Valley had been ‘eliminated’ in an early operation that began early Monday morning and lasted 17 hours.

Following the news of the Pulwama attack, militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility.

Soon after, Navjot Singh Sidhu, a minister in Captain Amarinder Singh’s Congress government in Punjab, asked whether an entire country (Pakistan) could be blamed for the acts of a few.

Sidhu, however, strongly condemned the Pulwama attack.

After the Pulwama attack, Kashmiris living in India have been facing xenophobia, hate, terminations and suspensions.

ALSO READ:  ‘We were attacked from all sides’: Darbar move employees in Jammu say neighbours were part of the mob too

A mob threatened to set a Dehradun college on fire if the institute didn’t terminate a Kashmiri dean. Abid Kuchay, college Dean of the Alpine Institute has been terminated.

“The college asked for it. I agreed for the betterment of the college,” he said. Abid’s resignation has been asked for his role of getting Kashmir students admitted in the college.

Moreover, four Kashmiri students were suspended on Saturday by the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Rajasthan for sharing a WhatsApp status in which they were allegedly celebrating the Pulwama attack which left 49 CRPF personnel dead.

The second-year students — Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir — were suspended soon after they shared as a WhatsApp status allegedly celebrating the killings of the CRPF personnel in the attack

Earlier, Shridev Suman Subharti University in Dehradun suspended a Kashmiri student after his alleged WhatsApp chat regarding the Pulwama attack went viral.

ALSO READ: #IndiaWantsRevenge: Kashmiris outside fear for their lives, face xenophobia, abuse, rustication after Pulwama attack

Meanwhile, Aligarh Muslim University also suspended a Kashmiri student over a ‘highly objectionable tweet’.

Omar Saleem Peerzada, AMU PRO said: “We have come to know of the highly objectionable tweet. Taking immediate cognizance the student has been suspended by the university administration,” he said.

Moreover, 15-20 Kashmiri female students had locked themselves in a hostel room in Dehradun after a mob surrounded the campus area, demanding the management to ‘throw them out of their rooms’.

Shazia Hamid, one of the students, told Free Press Kashmir that she and other Kashmiri female students, fearing the mob, have locked themselves in a room.

ALSO READ: ‘We’re alive today because of our Sikh brothers’: Kashmiri drivers back home from Jammu tell tales of agony and hope

Following Free Press Kashmir’s news story the women were provided safety by the Dehradun police who dispersed the crowd peacefully.

Earlier, former chief minister Omar Abdullah had appealed to the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh to direct all state governments to take ‘special care of areas where Kashmiris as residing or studying.’

Following the reports of attacks on Kashmiris in various parts of India, Government of India on Saturday asked all the states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir.

Click to comment
To Top