International community believes India, not us: Pakistan minister on Kashmir

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The minister said, “The ruling elite has destroyed the country. The ruling elite of this country destroyed the name. People think we are not a serious nation.”

In a major embarrassment for the Imran Khan-led government, a Pakistani minister claimed that Islamabad has failed to garner the desired support from the international community on Jammu-Kashmir after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370.

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Speaking on a talk show on Pakistani news channel Hum News on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Brigadier Ijaz Ahmed Shah blamed the “ruling elite class” for “destroying” the image of the country.

“People do not believe us in the international community. We say they [India] impose curfew and are not giving medicines to people of Jammu and Kashmir. People do not believe us, but they believe them,” Shah said.

The minister added, “The ruling elite has destroyed the country. The ruling elite of this country destroyed the name. People think we are not a responsible nation.”

When asked whether Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, former President Pervez Musharraf were a part of the ruling elite, the former spy chief said: “Everyone is responsible. Pakistan should now do a soul searching.”

The Pakistani’s minister’s remarks came a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, during a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva, claimed that India has transformed Jammu and Kashmir into the largest “caged prison in this planet”.

New Delhi later hit back saying a “fabricated narrative” on Jammu and Kashmir has come from “the epicentre of global terrorism” and from a nation, which conducts cross-border terrorism as a form of ‘alternate diplomacy.