India will attempt 'false flag operation' to divert attention from occupied Kashmir, PM Imran warns
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Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday alerted the international community to a possible "false flag operation" by the Indian leadership to "divert attention from massive human rights violations" in occupied Kashmir.
"I want to warn the international community that the Indian leadership will in all probability attempt a false flag operation to divert attention from its massive human rights violations and the unleashing of a reign of terror in IOJK [Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir]," said the premier via Twitter.
"We are hearing Indian media claims that some terrorists from Afghanistan have entered IOJK for terrorist activities, while others have entered India's southern regions. These claims are predictable to divert attention from India's ethnic cleansing and genocide agenda in IOJK," he added.
The prime minister's comments come as Indian premier Narendra Modi visits France ahead of the G-7 summit.
According to AP, French President Emmanuel Macron in his meeting with Modi on Thursday pressed for dialogue with Pakistan over the crisis in occupied Kashmir.
As part of his three-nation tour, Modi will visit the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain next. In the UAE, Modi will be conferred with the nation's highest honour, the Order of Zayed, according to Hindustan Times. Modi's visit to Bahrain will be the first ever by an Indian prime minister.
Earlier on Wednesday, in an interview with The New York Times, Prime Minister Imran had expressed concern that India might undertake a deceptive “false flag operation” in occupied Kashmir to try to justify military action against Pakistan, adding that Pakistan would be forced to respond.
“And then you are looking at two nuclear-armed countries eyeball to eyeball, and anything can happen. My worry is that this can escalate and for two nuclear-armed countries, it should be alarming for the world what we are facing now,” he said in the interview.
India stripped Kashmiris of their seven-decade-long special autonomy through a rushed presidential order on August 5. A communications blackout and heavy restrictions on movement imposed by the Indian authorities from the eve of this development entered their 19th day on Thursday.
