Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that a new refugee crisis might hit Kashmir following India's actions in the region and urged the international community to take notice of the situation
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th December, 2019) Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that a new refugee crisis might hit Kashmir following India's actions in the region and urged the international community to take notice of the situation.The Pakistani head of government is taking part in the first-ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva from December 16-18 along with other heads of government and state; leaders of international institutions and businesses; civil society representatives; and refugees.
"The most import thing that the world needs to understand is that the professed aim is to change the demography of Kashmir from Muslim majority to Muslim minority. Now, if this is what the professed aim [of India] is, we are likely to have another refugee crisis. A refugee crisis that would dwarf other crises," the prime minister said.
Khan voiced concern over the situation, adding that it might lead to a conflict between two nuclear countries in the future. He also said that 8 million Kashmiris were "under siege" in Kashmir.
The Pakistani prime minister urged the international community to put pressure on India in order to prevent this crisis and invited the UN secretary-general to a attend refugee conference in Pakistan in February.
India and Pakistan have fought for control over the Kashmir region for over half a century. Tensions increased in August, however, when Indian President Ram Nath Kovind signed a decree revoking Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which had ensured the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir state for decades. Under the government's new initiative, Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories that are under New Delhi's control.
On December 9, the Indian lower house passed a controversial bill allowing citizenship for religious minorities facing persecution in neighboring countries, including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis. Opponents to the bill see it as discriminatory and a fresh attempt to sideline the nearly 200-million-strong Muslim minority.
