PM Imran says Pakistan will not make first move in war with India

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday Pakistan would not make the first move if war broke out with India.

Addressing the International Sikh Convention's closing session here during his day-long visit to the city, PM Imran recalled the love he received in India when he travelled there for the first time to play cricket.

The PM reiterated that he had conveyed to India that if New Delhi took one step for progress with Pakistan, Islamabad would take two more. "We face climate change but both countries together can deal with climate change issues," he noted.

"War solves nothing," the premier stressed, adding: "Whoever tried to resolve conflicts through wars ended up with more problems than before."

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) government was following the same viewpoint that had led to the creation of Pakistan, PM Imran noted, highlighting that what the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the ideology of which he had underscored earlier was what the BJP was following — was perpetrating in India was inhumane.

"No religion, including Hinduism, allows this kind of barbarity," he said. The PM stressed further on how eight million people were locked up in Indian occupied Kashmir because of a curfew that has entered its 27th consecutive day.

PM Imran asked: "Can anyone be that barbarous to other people? Islam does not allow this kind of brutality and injustice towards people of other faiths.

"I fear the current ideology of the RSS would leave space for no one in India. If the RSS ideology is not stopped, they would go for people of all faiths," the premier noted, also referring to how people in India were lynched for consuming beef.

Last week, while addressing the 56th Convention of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in Houston via a video link, PM Imran had stated that terrorism had nothing to do with religion and that Islam was a religion of peace.

Speaking of the prevailing lockdown in occupied Kashmir, the premier had said the people of the valley had been under siege for more than three weeks.

The PM had added that the narrative was centred on a country of one billion people, with nuclear weapons and extreme ideology and philosophy.

Also read: 'Kashmir communications blackout putting patients at risk'

"Kashmir is a disputed territory and its future is to be decided by a plebiscite of its people," PM Imran had said.

Multiple visa policy for Sikh community

Separately, PM Imran announced that his government would issue multiple and on-arrival visas to the Sikh community and provide them with the maximum possible facilities during pilgrimages to their holy sites.

The prime minister assured the Sikh community that "you will be issued multiple visa… This is our responsibility. We will facilitate you rather will give you visa at airport.

"We will give you multiple visa to facilitate your journey to and from India,” the prime minister said. He added: "We will resolve challenges the Sikh community faces in obtaining visas."

Also in attendance were Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, federal and provincial cabinet members, and Sikh pilgrims from the UK, the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries.

The prime minister said he realised the difficulties foreigners face in obtaining Pakistani visas. "Though our government has changed the visa regime, the mindset of creating hurdles will gradually diminish," he added.

Earlier, it was reported that PM Imran would hold a meeting with the Punjab governor and the provincial chief minister, Usman Buzdar, on various issues. He was also said to chair a high-level meeting of the Punjab government officials at the CM House.

The visit comes amid high tensions in Pakistan over the illegal annexation of Kashmir by New Delhi.

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