Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned on Friday that an all-out conflict between the two nuclear-armed India and Pakistan would reverberate far beyond their borders.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Speaking at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Khan also warned of "bloodbath in Kashmir."

India last month removed Jammu and Kashmir's special status, given under Article 370 of the Constitution. 

"If this goes wrong, you hope for the best but be prepared for the worst," Khan said.

"If a conventional war starts between the two countries ... anything could happen. But supposing a country seven times smaller than its neighbor is faced with the choice – either you surrender or you fight for your freedom till death?

"What will we do? I ask myself this question ... and we will fight. ... and when a nuclear-armed country fights to the end, it will have consequences far beyond the borders."

India will use the Right to Reply option in response to Khan's speech. The Right of Reply generally means the right to defend oneself against criticism in the same venue where it was made.

Khan's speech at the UN came just less than an hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address where he urged the united against terror for the sake of humanity. Modi's speech, however, did not mention Kashmir or Pakistan. 

As Khan ranted about Kashmir in his address at UNGA, activists from Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan protested outside against the human rights violations by Pakistan in these regions.

Gilgit Baltistan activist Senge Hasnan Sering, while demonstrating outside the UNGA, said: "We are protesting against the occupation of Gilgit Baltistan by Pakistan. We are protesting against illegal activities of Pakistan and China in Gilgit Baltistan."

The activists called the residents of the region as Indian citizens.

Another activist who claimed to be from Balochistan slammed Pakistan for occupying it.

He said: "We are demanding independence from Pakistan. We were independent. On Aug 14, 1947, Pakistan occupied Balochistan on the basis of religion."

He accused Pakistan of using Islam to brutality and kill the people.

Terming democracy in Pakistan as fake, the activist called Prime Minister Khan a "chamcha".

"India is the biggest democracy in the world but the history of Pakistan began with a coup," he said while adding that elected leaders were executed by the military.

(With ANI, Reuters inputs)