Observer Report
Islamabad
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that India’s expansionist policies in the region, led by the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party of Narendra Modi, are becoming a threat to New Delhi’s neighbours.
Tensions have flared up recently between Chinese and Indian troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley region. Both sides now reportedly have thousands of troops stationed on either side of the ceasefire line, leading observers to draw comparisons with the 2017 standoff between India and China in Doklam.
The trigger this time, however, appears to India’s own actions in the disputed area. Former Indian military officials and diplomats told Reuters that New Delhi’s construction of roads and airstrips in Ladakh were the most likely reason for drawing Beijing’s ire.
The premier compared the current Indian policies to the Nazi concept of ‘Lebensraum’, which comprised policies and practices of settler colonialism.
Detailing the threat of Indian policies, the prime minister said New Delhi has border disputes with China and Nepal, tension over the Citizenship Act with Bangladesh and a threat of false flag operations against Pakistan.
PM Imran further said that India has carried out such actions after the illegal annexation of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which is a “war crime under 4th Geneva Convention” and illegally claiming Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
“I have always maintained the fascist Modi Govt is not only a threat to India’s minorities by relegating them to 2nd class citizens’ status, but also threat to regional peace,” said the prime minister in a tweet.
Earlier, the prime minister termed Indian allegations of infiltration from Pakistan’s side of the Line of Control baseless and said it is a “continuation of a dangerous agenda”.
He had also reminded the international community of its responsibility to act against the war crimes and genocide being perpetrated against the Kashmiri people in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
The prime minister had said the right-wing Indian government, under the cover of the pandemic, has continued its Hindutva supremacist agenda, driven by the fascist RSS ideology.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that the recent conflict between China and India was triggered by the latter’s “illegal constructions” in Ladakh. Qureshi said that while China wished to resolve issues through dialogue, it “cannot remain oblivious to India’s illegal constructions” as he urged the world community to take notice of India’s hostile policies.
The foreign minister, in a conversation with state broadcaster Pakistan Television, expressed concern over the construction of roads and airstrips by India in Ladakh, which is a disputed territory, adding that New Delhi’s “aggressive policy against its neighbours is putting regional peace and stability at stake”.
Qureshi pointed out that New Delhi had stripped occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its special status last year, saying that the move showed India’s intention of “changing the demographic composition of the territory”. He also claimed India had “used the land of Afghanistan against Pakistan”.
In a separate statement, the foreign minister said: “The world should take notice of India’s motives, where is it headed? “Sometimes India has problems with Nepal, at other times, it (New Delhi) tries to disrupt the Afghan peace process.
“India tries to promote unrest in Balochistan and now it has done the same in Ladakh and is trying to blame China for it.”
“China has always shown tolerance and talked about peace,” FM Qureshi said. “China is still saying that the issue can be resolved with dialogue but India continues building in the disputed region causing a serious threat to regional peace.”
