By Our Staff Reporter
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan made it loud and clear on Sunday said Pakistan could not improve its trade with India at the cost of the blood of the Kashmiris spilt by India.
“Any normalisation with New Delhi under the current circumstances would be a major “betrayal” to the people of the occupied territory,” Imran Khan said on Sunday while taking live calls from public on state-run PTV News.
Interacting with the public in a live Q&A session, the premier said there was “no doubt” that the benefits would be immense if relations with India improved and trade and connectivity started, citing examples from other parts of the world such as the formation of the European Union which he said had benefitted all member countries.
“I tried since the first day after coming into power that we have [friendly] relations with India and the issue of Kashmir is resolved through dialogue but [considering] the situation right now, if we normalise relations with India at this time we will be doing a major betrayal with the people of Kashmir,” Dawn quoted Prime Miniater as saying.
He added that re-establishing ties at the moment would be tantamount to “ignoring all their struggle and the more than 100,000 Kashmiris martyred”.