Imran Khan warns of 'grave consequences' if Pak goes to war against India

Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan has once again raked up the prospect of a nuclear war with India, soon after India abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Kashmir, which in turn has been the major bone of contention between the two countries since Partition.

In an exclusive interview to Al Jazeera on Saturday (September 14), Khan said there will be grave consequences if a war breaks out between the two nuclear-powered countries. Khan said, there are possibilities that a conventional war between the two countries will end in a nuclear war, if one side was losing.

“If I say Pakistan, God forbid and in a conventional war, and we are losing, and if a country is stuck between two choices, either you surrender or fight to the death for your freedom.”

“I know Pakistan will fight to death for freedom (and) when a nuclear-armed country fights to death, there are consequences,” he said. He, however, asserted that Pakistan would never start a nuclear war from its side.

Also read: India condemns provocative statements on Kashmir by Imran Khan

“There is no confusion. What I said is that Pakistan will never start a nuclear war. I am anti-war. I believe that wars do not solve problems as it has unintended consequences. The aftermath of a nuclear conflict is unimaginable and anything is possible if two nuclear-armed states enter into war against each other,” he said.

As an example, PM referred to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and mentioned that those wars unfolded more issues. “Look at the war in Vietnam and Iraq. The wars caused other problems, probably more serious than what it was originally fought for.”

He also stated that this was the reason why Pakistan has been approaching the UN and every international forum for a solution. He also said that if the Kashmir issue is not resolved by the international community it could impact world trade.

On Thursday (September 12), Imran Khan in his tweet had welcomed the European Union’s call for a peaceful solution, of the Kashmir dispute.

He had also thanked the rest of the world for its support for Kashmir. “I commend 58 countries that joined Pakistan at the UN Human Rights Council on September 10, reinforcing demands of international community for India to stop the use of force, lift the siege, remove other restrictions, respect and protect Kashmir’s rights, and resolve Kashmir dispute through the UNSC resolutions,” he said.