PM Imran Khan talks, Kashmir, India, RSS in interview with German news channel

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview on Thursday said that Kashmiris should be free to decide their fate, and not forced into the decision, ARY News reported.

Prime Minister Imran Khan sat down with a correspondent from German media and talked on an array of topics ranging from Kashmir, Afghanistan, India, and the country he was heading.

Discussing the illegal unilateral annexation of Kashmir at the hands of India, the prime minister said: “Let the people of Kashmir decide what they want. Pakistan is ready for a referendum or a plebiscite.”

The interviewer asks the prime minister about claims of human rights violations in Azad Kashmir which is currently under Pakistan’s administration and how does he compare the two disputed territories and situation of their respective residents.

Prime Minister Imran Khan replied: “Well, it’s very easy to find out. We invite anyone from anywhere in the world to visit the Pakistan side of Kashmir and then go to the Indian side. Let them decide.”

“Azad Kashmir holds free and fair elections and it elects its own government. Like any other administration, they have their problems. But as I said, let us invite observers from all over the world. I assure you that they can go to the Pakistan side of Kashmir but won’t be allowed on the Indian side.”

Imran Khan emphasised that he had extended an olive branch to the Indian government on multiple occasions but the radical ideology of its current ruling class has been and can become a further detriment to regional peace and security.

“I was the first leader to warn the world about what is happening in India. India has been taken over by an extremist ideology known as “Hindutva.” It is the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“The RSS, a political organization founded in 1925, was inspired by the German Nazis, and its founding fathers believed in racial supremacy. Just as the Nazi ideology was built on hatred for minorities, the RSS ideology is also based on hatred for Muslims and other minorities, including Christians,” said PM Imran Khan.

“The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is blatantly against minorities, and particularly against the 200 million Muslims in India. The silence of the world on all of this is mainly because of commercial interests.”

“It is a tragedy for India — and for its neighbours — that the country has been taken over by the RSS, an organization which also assassinated the great Mahatma Gandhi. A nuclear-armed country is being run by extremists, and Kashmir has been under siege for over five months.”

Answering a question about the US-Afghanistan peace talks and Pakistan’s role in brokering peace between the two countries, the prime minister said: ” I think they are heading towards a ceasefire. We are hoping that the US-Taliban talks succeed, as we have a new government in power in Afghanistan with President Ashraf Ghani being re-elected.”

” Pakistan is doing its best to bring peace to Afghanistan. It is a country that has suffered so much in the past 40 years. We pray that the Taliban, the Americans and the Afghan government achieve peace.”

“We live in a difficult neighborhood and we have to balance our actions. For instance, Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s greatest friends and has always been there for us. Then we have Iran, with which we have always maintained a good relationship. Therefore, a military conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran would be disastrous for Pakistan. We are trying our best to make sure that ties between these two countries do not deteriorate. It is a region that cannot afford another conflict,” said the premier.

India, a nuclear-armed country, is being run by extremists: PM Imran Khan