ISLAMABAD, Feb 22 (DNA): Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and

Kashmir has said that the world is yet to fully grasp the gravity of the

situation in South Asia springing from the Kashmir dispute between India

and Pakistan.

The AJK President informed that we need to do more, to

make the Kashmir dispute more internationalized and to raise more

consciousness as there is a severe lockdown in place and the entire

territory of Jammu and Kashmir is under siege. The international

community, particularly the powerful states of the world need to step

forward and they should take the side of the oppressed Kashmiris, he

said.

President Masood Khan said that India has already declared war against

Pakistan by acting against the people in Indian Occupied Kashmir. He

said that Pakistan, its Armed Forces and the nation of Pakistan are

ready to respond to any misadventure by India but they are demonstrating

restraint and responsibility.

“We are in a state of war but we cannot wantonly plunge into a nuclear

war, as it would be an apocalypse for the entire world and not just for

South Asia. According to the estimates given by scientists, 130 million

people would be killed instantly, and 2.5 billion people all around the

world would be affected directly or indirectly by radiation and nuclear

fallout. And that could mean failed crops that could lead to a global

recession and mass migration of people”, warned Masood Khan.

Terming the United Nations Security Council’s inactivity and complacency

as a dereliction of responsibility on the part of the international

institution, the President said that powerful nations of the world are

not stepping forward because of realpolitik, economic linkages, and

state and strategic interests.

Citing the August 5 and October 31 moves by India as illegal and

illicit, President Masood Khan said that they (India) issued fake maps

and in which they showed Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as

part of the Indian territory. Referring to the status of

Gilgit-Baltistan, the President said that they should be given all of

their constitutional rights but at the same time, such steps should not

affect Pakistan’s principle position on the Jammu and Kashmir issue.=DNA

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