Our Correspondent
Nankana Sahab
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday that India has left no room for negotiations between the two countries after stripping Kashmir of its autonomy and abrogating articles 370 and 35-A of its Constitution.
The minister addressed a ceremony in Nankana Sahib, and compared the ideologies of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and Modi-led Hindu nationalist Indian government that has been committing gross violations of human rights in occupied Kashmir.
‘Baba Guru Nanak preached peace and we follow it, but India has been oppressing [Kashmiris],’ he said, adding that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan would further raise the issue of Kashmir at the global stage.
Sheikh Rashid warned India of any misadventure in the region and said: ‘If anyone dares to attack Pakistan, then it will be our last war […] Pakistan means a matter of life or death for us […] I want to convey it to India that we have atomic weapons weighing even 250 grammes.’ He mentioned that India had made two wrong decisions, in the past, and carried out nuclear tests which in consequence prompted us [Pakistan] to do the same.
‘If India had not conducted atomic explosion, then we wouldn’t have achieved this state [of nuclear weapons].’ Rashid recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, in front of US President Donald Trump, that before the partition of subcontinent in 1947, Pakistan and India were united.
The federal minister pointed out this implies that Modi doesn’t acknowledge the existence of Pakistan. About escalating tensions in occupied Kashmir, he asserted that Pakistan doesn’t want a war with India.
Importantly, the minister announced to change the name of Nankana Railway Station to Baba Guru Nanak Railway Station. ‘I invite all members of the opposition parties to get united for the cause of Kashmir.’—SABAH
