'Same Reaction if Even 8 Americans Were Under Siege?' Imran Khan Upset With Lack of Response to Kashmir

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he is “disappointed” with the lack of response from the international community over the Kashmir crisis and asked if the reaction would have been the same “if even eight Americans were under siege”.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Khan said: "(I am) Disappointed by the international community. If eight million Europeans or Jews or even eight Americans were put under siege, would the reaction have been the same? There's no pressure yet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the siege. We'll keep putting the pressure... What are 9,00,000 troops doing there? Once the curfew is lifted, god knows what is going to happen after that…”

The Pakistan Prime Minister also acknowledged India's economic stature and global prominence while responding to why Pakistan's narrative on Kashmir is being overlooked. "The reason is India, people look upon India as a market of 1.2 billion people... Some are appalled by it but by the end of it, they think of it as a market," he said.

Pakistan has made several attempts to internationalise the issue but has not received support, with the global community agreeing that the Kashmir conflict must be resolved between the two neighbours. India as maintained that the decision to repeal Article 370 was an internal matter.

Earlier this month, Pakistan Interior Minister Brig Ijaz admitted that Islamabad has failed to get support from the international community over its stand on Kashmir. "People do not believe us but they believe them,” the minister had said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have been on the rise since the Narendra Modi government decided to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.

In response, Pakistan expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and suspended trade ties with India. It then sought to internationalise the issue at various global platforms, including the United Nations, but to no avail.