Imran Khan vows Pakistan ‘will fight till the end’ if India wages violence in Kashmir

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned India on Wednesday that Islamabad was prepared to respond to any aggression in the disputed region of Kashmir, vowing the time had come to teach New Delhi a lesson.

“The Pakistani army has solid information that they are planning to do something in Pakistani Kashmir, and they are ready and will give a solid response,” Khan said during a televised speech in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“We have decided that if India commits any type of violation we will fight till the end,” he said.

China tells India it is ‘highly concerned’ about situation in Kashmir

Khan’s visit to the region came more than a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an executive decree to strip its portion of the Himalayan region, known as Jammu and Kashmir, of its special status.

Islamabad retaliated by suspending bilateral trade and all public transport links with India, as well as expelling New Delhi’s ambassador to Islamabad.

In an address celebrating Pakistan’s Independence Day, Khan criticised India for its actions in the disputed region and assured Kashmiris living in the Indian-administered part of the region that he supported their struggle for self-determination.

“Independence Day is an opportunity for great happiness, but today we are saddened by the plight of our Kashmiri brothers in occupied Jammu and Kashmir who are victims of Indian oppression,” Khan said in a statement. “I assure my Kashmiri brothers that we stand with them.”

Khan told the region’s parliament that India planned more extensive action than that of February, when its fighter jets struck inside Pakistan, following a dramatic escalation in tension between the rivals.

“They have made a more horrendous plan to divert world attention from their move in Kashmir, they plan action in Azad Kashmir,” Khan said, referring to the portion held by Pakistan. “The Pakistani army is fully aware that they (India) have made a plan of taking action in Azad Kashmir.”

Khan also repeated comments comparing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to the German Nazi Party.

Representatives of India’s armed forces and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Khan’s remarks.

India rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, while Pakistan controls a wedge of territory in the west known as Azad Kashmir. China holds a thinly populated high-altitude area in the north.

New Delhi’s revocation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir blocks the state’s right to frame its own laws and allows non-residents to buy property there.

India has maintained an unprecedented security lockdown to try to stave off a violent reaction to Kashmir’s downgraded status. Protests and clashes have occurred daily, thought the curfew and communications blackout have meant the reaction is largely subdued.

How India’s Kashmir move complicates the border issue with China

Modi’s government has said old laws prohibiting people from outside Kashmir from buying property, settling there and taking up government jobs had hindered its development.

Restrictions were lifted in five districts of Jammu and relaxed in nine Kashmir districts on Monday, India’s home ministry said.

It said there would be heightened security for both Pakistan and India’s Independence Day celebrations and for Muslim Friday prayers.

Pakistan has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, saying the move by India threatens international peace and could lead to ethnic cleansing and genocide. Poland holds the council presidency this month and Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said members would discuss the letter.

Khan is expected to travel to Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Kashmir, later on Wednesday to address the state parliament.

In Islamabad, posters urged residents to express solidarity with Kashmiris and roadside vendors sold Azad Kashmir flags as well as the Pakistan flag commonly displayed on August 14.

In Kashmir, the colonised have become the colonisers. India’s soul is at stake

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from colonial power Great Britain in 1947.

They came close to a third in February after a deadly attack on Indian police by a Pakistan-based militant group resulted in air strikes by both countries.

Pakistan’s government has also said India’s Independence Day, which falls on August 15, will be observed as a “Black Day” this year, with flags on government buildings flown at half mast to protest against India’s decision.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse