Pakistan PM Abbasi warns of 'dangerous escalation'

Pakistan PM Abbasi warns of 'dangerous escalation'

United tions, Sept 22: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi warned on Thursday of the possibility of a “dangerous escalation” on the subcontinent and clamoured for intervention by the global organisation, while delivering what is likely the most virulent attack on India at the UN General Assembly in recent times.

Accusing New Delhi of frequently violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, he said that “if India does venture across the LoC, or acts upon its doctrine of ‘limited’ war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response”.

“The intertiol community must act decisively to prevent the situation from a dangerous escalation,” he said. Abbasi also admitted that Pakistan’s nuclear arsel is directed against India.

“Confronted by a hostile and increasingly militarized neighbour, Pakistan has been obliged to maintain the capability for credible deterrence,” he said. “Our strategic assets are vital to deter oft-threatened aggression.” Pakistan has refused to accept a “no-first-use” policy for nuclear weapons, leaving its options open for striking first. Abbasi spent almost a third of his General Assembly address of about 12 minutes attacking India. The Pakistani leader accused India of committing “war crimes” and violating the Geneva Conventions through the use of pellet guns by its forces leading to the blinding of its victims. Guterres should also appoint a Special Envoy on Kashmir whose “mandate should flow from the longstanding but unimplemented resolutions of the Security Council” on Kashmir, he said.

India considers the Security Council resolutions unenforceable because Pakistan refused to withdraw its troops from the parts of Kashmir it occupied as required by them. And Kashmiris have made their option to be a part of India clear by their participation in democratic elections, India maintains.

After Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto signed the 1972 Simla Agreement recognising that disputes between the two countries are bilateral matters, India has said that there can be no third party intervention. “As in the past, today the Kashmiri people are waging a heroic and popular struggle to rid themselves of India’s oppressive rule” Abbasi said.

“India has responded with massive and indiscrimite force to suppress the Kashmiris, shooting indiscrimitely at children, women and youth,” he said. “Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris have been killed or injured.”

He reiterated that Pakistan was “open to resuming a comprehensive dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues, especially Kashmir” and it “must be accompanied by an end to India’s campaign of subversion and state sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, including from across our western border.”

The mention of “western border” appeared to be a reference to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian vy officer who Pakistan says entered Balochistan from Iran last year. He has been sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan on spying charges. India has denied he was working for it and has asked the Intertiol Court of Justice to intervene.

Abbasi spoke of a strong response if India went across the LoC. Last year in September India carried out what it called a surgical strike inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir against terrorists who had attacked a military post in Uri. Islamabad denied the raid had taken place. (IANS)

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