Global News

The world is yet to fully grasp the gravity of the situation in South Asia springing from the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, according to Sardar Masood Khan, president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

He said that India’s recent acts of dividing the state of Jammu and Kashmir and revoking its autonomy and continues communication blockade in the region has further aggravated the situation.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Khan, a former career diplomat who served as Pakistan’s envoy at the UN and China, said the Kashmir has become an elephant in the room which global powers cannot ignore.

“If I may put it like that, you cannot ignore it. Everybody sees it from all directions whether you’re sitting in Washington or Tokyo or Beijing or Australia. You see Kashmir as a threat to peace and security,” he said.

Predicting an apocalypse, in case issues are not resolved between two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, Khan said that the danger of nuclear war and annihilation of 130 million people was real.

“It would be not just for South Asia, because, 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,” Khan said. He further added that such a situation will also cause mass migration.

Born in Rawalakot, in AJK’s Poonch district, Khan, who has also worked as a TV news anchor, thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish society, and think-tanks for realizing the severity of the situation and standing by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent road map on Palestine has been a disappointment and it amounts to legitimizing occupation. Asked about Trump’s offer to mediate between India and Pakistan, he said the Palestine plan has created a kind of credibility deficit. He said the UN charter makes it obligatory for the UN secretary-general to mediate to avoid conflicts. Khan asked: Why can’t António Guterres be the mediator with collaboration and help from Trump?

Anadolu Agency: First brief us on the current situation of Kashmir and then tell us if your government was able to create a kind of consciousness and understanding about Kashmir internationally?

Sardar Masood Khan: On your question, whether we are doing enough, I would say that Jammu and Kashmir issue is already internationalized. It was internationalized way back in 1948 when India took this issue to the UN Security Council, which passed dozens of resolutions saying that India and Pakistan should agree to hold a plebiscite. So, it was internationalized then, it is internationalized today because as you would see that international media is writing about Kashmir. You may also know that after the illegal steps that were taken by India on Aug. 5 last year, the Security Council has met three times or two times substantively.

But the point is valid that we need to do more, to make it more internationalized and to raise more consciousness. There is a lockdown. The entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir is under siege. So, yes, we need to do more and the international community, particularly the powerful states of the world need to step forward. They should take sides and this time they should take the side of the Kashmiris.