IIOJK’s tumultuous situation can escalate Pak, India tension: Masood Khan

Web Desk
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, has warned that the prevailing turbulent situation in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir can lead to escalation of tensions between Pakistan and India. The Pakistani envoy said there is a persistent threat that the two countries can use their strategic weapons in case a war erupts. Masood Khan maintained that it was the Indian aggression that had led to the first Indo-Pakistan war. He pointed out that since then the two countries have fought three more major wars with frequent clashes occurring across the Line of Control in the internationally recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an interview with the Newsweek, the Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States has warned of a serious threat of escalation 75 years after his nation’s first war with India, and this includes the looming possibility that the two rivals could turn to their strategic arsenals should a fight erupt.
“That risk is always there,” Ambassador Masood Khan said. “Pakistan and India are nuclear weapons states and the situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is very, very turbulent.” Masood Khan said the situation is deteriorating as he accused India of orchestrating population transfers to settle Hindus into the majority-Muslim region and of committing an array of human rights violations.
But even as the situation approached a critical point, he appealed for both bilateral and international mediation to improve ties with New Delhi and avoid further escalation.