"It is my apprehension that with a racist person like Modi at the helm of affairs, India is planning ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris in the occupied valley," he said. The PM said Indian Parliament's highly controversial move to repeal Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution to deprive IOK of the special status would fuel more unrest. "As a result of the passage of the controversial law, the uprising in India would see a massive rise. What else one can expect from a government whose ideology is based on Hindu extremism," he said. The PM said he urged US President Donald Trump to intervene, sensing the gravity of the situation in IOK because India was unwilling to seriously pursue bilateral talks. "The situation in the occupied valley will only deteriorate in the times to come," the PM said.
He further said that he tried to make Modi understand the importance of bilateral talks. "I tried to make him understand but Modi was never willing to initiate the dialogue with sincerity. Then, finally, at Bishkek, we became sure that India's intention cannot be trusted and India was pursuing a heinous agenda in the IOK. The doubts in my mind that India was shying away from talks with Pakistan became stronger in Bishkek and it proved true with the Modi's recent actions," the PM said.
Khan minced no words to warn that Pakistan would give a befitting reply if India initiated bloodshed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) or resorted to anything like the Balakot episode. "Then we are not going to sit silent and we are not going to stop. I tell India: make no mistake if you resort to any misadventure in AJK, there shall be repercussions. This could lead to a conventional war. Pakistan and India alone would not bear the brunt of the war. The entire world would feel its heat. It's not a nuclear blackmail [rather] it's a common sense appeal," he said.
The PM recalled when Indian Air Force targeted an unpopulated hilly area in Balakot, he had a conversation with Pakistan's Army and Air Chiefs at 3:00am in the morning. "We decided if there were casualties at our side, we would respond and target their men. But there were no casualties in Balakot, so we did not inflict casualties upon them when we responded to their aggression," Khan referred to the downing of two Indian Air Force jets and the arrest of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan by Pakistan Army in February this year.
Khan said that in case of any aggression from Indian side, the people of Pakistan would have two options: either to act cowardly like Bahadur Shah Zafar or fight bravely like Tipu Sultan.
He reiterated to highlight at International Criminal Court (ICC) the atrocities of Indian forces in the IOK as well as other international fora.
Earlier, the joint session of the Parliament that was summoned to demonstrate parliamentary solidarity with Kashmiris saw a clear divide when the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, who was presiding over the joint session, had to suspend the proceedings after opposition parties created a furore against the non-inclusion of the agenda item regarding abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A from the Indian constitution, in the session's proceedings. The House proceedings remained suspended for more than four hours from 12:05pm to 4:15pm as the treasury and opposition benches kept waiting for PM Khan and scores of lawmakers were seen engaged in chitchat with each other in the NA hall where joint session was taking place. The session resumed after PM Khan finally arrived. Moreover, the speaker NA also got the agenda of the joint session proceedings revised.
"This House may discuss the illegal and coercive attempt by India to alter the disputed status of Indian Occupied Kashmir as enshrined in the UNSC resolutions and other regressive measures to change its demographic structure (through repeal and revocation of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution) by the Indian Government and the recent surge in unprovoked firing and shelling on unarmed civilian population across the Line of Control and use of cluster bombs by Indian forces in Azad Jammu and Kashmir; deployment of additional troops and atrocities in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and other recent developments," read the revised agenda of the two-day joint session that would conclude today (Wednesday).
Speaking on the occasion, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif called for a decisive response to India's decisions regarding Kashmir, saying despite passage of 48 hours, there came no policy statement from the government regarding the IOK's special status repeal issue.
He regretted that friendly countries like Malaysia and China, except Turkey, did not side with Pakistan on the issue. He was all praise for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for categorically putting his weight behind Kashmiris.
"Even our time-tested friend like China is nowhere to be seen in this episode...it's time for us for introspection. We didn't know what the Indian government was thinking? Yes we are united for the cause of Pakistan but that unity should not come without self-introspection," he added.
"We have two options: either we hide or we take decisive action. Hiding is not an option, we must take a decisive action."
Referring to peace measures in Afghanistan, he said that Pakistan must not exhaust all its resources in trying to establish peace in Afghanistan without getting anything in return from the US. "I ask the Prime Minister if President Trump's offer to play the role of a mediator was a 'trump card or a trap card," he added.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in response to Sharif's speech, asked the Parliament to advise the government on what to do next. "What measures have I not taken? Our Foreign Office has held meetings with ambassadors, I have reached out to other countries...we're approaching international fora. What does he [Sharif] suggest I should do, launch an attack on India?" Khan responded critically to Sharif's scepticism on his intentions pertaining to the Kashmir issue.
In the same breath, Khan questioned Sharif's party what it had done to address the Kashmir dispute during its time in power. Sharif responded by saying that the prime minister was not being asked to start a war but to take a stronger stance.
Chairman Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in his parliamentary address, demanded that the Prime Minister of Pakistan should rise to the occasion and demonstrate the kind of leadership which "every Pakistani expects from him." "India's excessive deployment in the region, expulsion of pilgrims and tourists, closure of educational institutions and the arrest of politicians who had served as allies to the Indian government has culminated in a brutal, historical attack. An attack not only on Kashmir but an attack on the UN, an attack on international law, norms and precedents, democracy, rule of law, and inalienable right to self determination," he added.
Bilawal went on to say that it was "an attack obviously on the Muslims of Kashmir, but it was also an attack on India, on the idea of India as a secular democratic India where all citizens have the right to be treated equally."
"It is an attack on the India of Nehru and Gandhi, but it is also an attack on the India of Vajpayee," he added.
"The unilateral usurpation of rights forever guaranteed to Kashmiris and the unilateral, illegal revocation of Articles 35-A and 370 demolish the historical identity of occupied Kashmir.
"It opens the door for Kashmiris to be turned into a minority in their own homes. If Kashmir was a flashpoint before, a human rights disaster before, if peace in the region was held hostage to Kashmir before, with one stroke of the pen, Mr Speaker, India has now opened up a Pandora's box that has the potential to engulf the entire region in flames and it has also opened the door to a potential nuclear catastrophe.
"We will not accept it, the people of Kashmir will not accept it, the people of India should not accept it and the world should not accept it...the Prime Minister is asking what he should do. But so far we have not even seen a policy statement. All we have had is a tweet," he added. Former president Asif Ali Zardari and Khawaja Saad Rafique attended the session after NA Speaker issued their production orders.