NYT backs PM Imran’s stance against Modi on Kashmir

Islamabad: A week after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the United Nations American newspaper The New York Times has backed Pakistani leader’s stance against New Delhi.

In an opinion titled “The U.N. Can’t Ignore Kashmir Anymore”, the newspaper expressed disappointment over UN’s lack of resolve which it said is a sign of the dysfunction in international diplomacy as American leadership declines and divisions among world powers grow. 

While some political parties in Pakistan have criticized the prime minister and claimed that he failed to achieve anything on Kashmir with his speech at the UN, the NYT opinion seems to agree with what the former cricket hero said about Indian actions in occupied Kashmir– a sign that his message has resonated with international media.

Calling Prime Minister Imran Khan “a man on a mission at UN”, the paper rejected Narendra Modi’s pretext for revoking Kashmir’s special status as absurd.

“While Mr. Modi didn’t address the issue in his United Nations speech, at a rally in Houston a few days earlier he said that revoking the constitutional clause on Kashmiri autonomy meant “people there have got equal rights” with other Indians now. That’s an absurd assertion to make about a state in the world’s largest democracy that’s essentially under martial law,” the NYT wrote.

It also doubted that President Trump can become a mediator on Kashmir between Pakistan and India, citing the US leader’s relationship with Narendra Modi.

“President Trump has offered to mediate, but his warm relations with the increasingly autocratic Mr. Modi — Mr. Trump attended the Houston fan fest — hardly make him an honest broker,”it said.

The newspaper also agreed with Prime Minister Imran Khan when it wrote that international community was unwilling to risk crossing Mr. Modi and losing access to India’s huge market.

The New York Times called on UN Security Council to make clear that it opposes Modi’s brutal tightening of India’s control on Kashmir.

“While Mr. Modi may think he can control this volatile conflict on his own, he almost certainly cannot,” the newspaper wrote.