Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday said Prime Minister Imran Khan did not make a strong case for the plight of the people of Indian-held Kashmir, as he accused the ‘selected media and commentators’ of ‘hyping up’ his speech at the United Nations General Assembly’s 74th annual session.
“The prime minister did not emphasise the disputed status of the Kashmir valley in his speech … some people may think that you have accepted this status quo,” the PPP chief regretted while talking to reporters in Sehwan Sharif after offering condolence with Syed Saleh Shah over the death of his father PPP MPA Ghulam Shah Jilani. “You know how in North Korea every time the leader makes a speech or issues a statement, people are made to line up on the streets and they clap [for the government], anchors are made to sit before cameras on TV and they laud.
This is what is happening in Pakistan,” Bilawal said. “Our selected prime minister is also being appreciated on our selected media, but those who know about the plight of the Kashmiri people as well as the history of their struggle, understand that Pakistan’s government can play a vital role for the Kashmiris,” he said. “No matter how much our selected media and commentators laud and celebrate the prime minister’s speech, Pakistani people do not feel the same passion, they are disappointed,” he added. The PPP chief said it was a “pre-scheduled speech that we knew he will deliver before [India’s August 5 move] took place.” “While it was important to highlight the human rights violations in the occupied valley, the prime minister should also have talked about UN’s resolutions that grant Kashmiris the right to self-determination,” he said, adding that the prime minster should have focused solely on the Kashmir crisis instead of bringing up other issues. “This is a compromise that Pakistani people cannot tolerate,” he said. Bilawal said the prime minister has not done enough to highlight the situation in the occupied valley. “How many countries has he [prime minister] visited since Article 370 was repealed,” he asked. Replying to a question about Azadi March being planned by JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he said that the demands of the JUI-F and the PPP are the same. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Information Minister Saeed Ghani were also present on the occasion.
