Our Correspondent
Mirpur (AJK)
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday warned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane against continuing the anti-Pakistan war rhetoric ramped up recently by India.
Delivering an impassioned speech in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir city of Mirpur where a rally to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day was held, the prime minister referred to recent comments by Modi where he had claimed the Indian forces “will not take more than seven to 10 days to make Pakistan bite the dust”.
“You need to brush up on history. It seems your degree was fake,” said the prime minister. He said that leaders who had shown such pride had always been defeated in the past, giving examples of the failure of Hitler’s and Napolean’s forces to permeate Russia, of US forces to win the Afghan war and to conquer Vietnam.
“Narendra Modi, the statement you gave on this country, and the Indian army chief […] this is my message to you both […] you have already made a mistake on August 5. Just remember, every citizen of this 200 million-strong nation, down to the last child, will fight to their final breath.
“We will show you how we can fight. […] our army is well recognised, battle-hardened. Our people are God-fearing […] none of us fear death. “If you are under the false impression that you will take any action against Pakistan to strengthen your Hindu voter base, it will be the last mistake you make,” said the premier in a grave warning to his Indian counterpart. “He thought he would end the issue of Kashmir altogether but the way the issue has been internationalised, there is talk of Kashmir where it was never before discussed,” said the prime minister.He said the United Nations Security Council alone had debated the issue thrice already.
The premier reminded Kashmiris that Pakistan will continue to stand by them and will continue to fight alongside them.
“Kashmiris who are going through a hard time, all our prayers are with you. We pray you are granted patience. “But I say, I had promised to be your ambassador. I stand before you in that capacity today, not as the prime minister of Pakistan.”
He said he had raised the issue of Kashmir with every single foreign leader he had met since August 5. “I spoke to Trump thrice, spoke to British premier Boris Johnson, spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel twice and explained what is happening in Kashmir. “I spoke to the Russian foreign minister in New York, spoke to [French President] Macron for half an hour and spoke in great detail with Canada’s [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau,” said the premier, as he assured Kashmiris he will continue their struggle on their behalf.
