Fizala Khan
Moeed Yusuf, the advisor on National Security and Strategic Policy Planning to PM Imran Khan spoke to Karan Thapar in a wide range interview, discussing the abrogation of Article 370, the fate of Kulbhushan Jadhav, delays in the Mumbai terror trial, Gilgit-Balochistan and other issues.
Moeed Yusuf briefly explained that Kashmiris should be a part of any discussion that is made about their land but refused to divulge in further details. He constantly insisted that Kashmiris must be a third party at these talks – a non-starter for the Indian side. He also made it clear that Pakistan is willing to discuss terror.
Karan Thapar was left baffled and confused in the first ever interview made by any Pakistani Official that was direct and posed to Indian media. Speaking on Kashmir and the Conflict, Thapar insisted that the problem is ‘internal’ with internal and what Kashmiris want is a ‘secondary and a different matter’.
Yusuf replied to Karan’s remarks on Kashmir and India as he said that ‘Kashmiris hate India and will never take the humiliation of being called an Indian. They’d rather have China rule them instead of India and that is the reality”.
The 75-minute interview to The Wire that was often quarrelsome and aggressive and even, at times, no holds barred, Yusuf told Karan Thapar “we must sit down like adults”. He said there are two issues, Kashmir and terror, and added “I want to talk about both”. He said Pakistan “stands for peace and we want to move forward”.
Moeed Yusuf strongly asserted that pre-conditions made by India must reverse what he called the “military siege” in Kashmir and roll back the new domicile law.
He later took a jab at Ajit Doval, India’s national security adviser, as he said, “Compare me to my counterpart in India” and added that his goal is to increase the political space for his prime minister.
Karan Thapar, furiously mentioned Pakistans agenda behind the conflict in Kashmir and questioned the empathy that Pakistan pounces on when Kashmir is discussed. He further added that Pakistand should not be worried about the unconstitutional changes in Jammu Kashmir, especially when it contradicts Islamabad’s intention to give full province status to Gilgit-Baltistan.
He futrther added that Pakistan’s focus on Article 370 has got little response from the world (except Malaysia and Turkey) but alienated Saudi Arabia and UAE. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s accusation of “genocide” and “a final solution” in Kashmir whilst remaining totally silent and even expressing ignorance about the plight of the Uighurs in China.
Karan Thapar also questioned Moeed Yusuf about the former Indian naval officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, on death row in Pakistan, on espionage charges that India insists are false. He added that without “an effective review and reconsideration” as required by the International Court of Justice, the truth will not be delivered.
In response to these issues, Yusuf said “Kashmiris hate Indians”. He said the constitutional changes of August 2019 are “not an internal matter”. He said they were “a matter for the UN” as they further conversed about the ‘Shimla agreement’ and other unconstitutional amendments that India is alleged for.
Speaking about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s silence on the Uighurs while making accusations of genocide in Kashmir, he said this was “a false equivalence”. He said the Uighurs were a “non-issue”. He said that he had personally studied the matter in detail and was hundred percent satisfied that the Uighurs were being treated properly by the Chinese government and that there was no problem.
Yusuf also squarely blamed India. He said India is “deliberately delaying sending evidence and witnesses” because it wants to keep the issue alive and use it to run down Pakistan in front of the world. Speaking about Jadhav, Yusuf said that India “has been caught with its pants down”.
Yusuf also claimed that the handler of the 2014 terrorist attack on an army school in Peshawar was in touch with “an Indian consulate” (withholding the details). He said Pakistan has the phone number of the handler’s contact. He added, “We have evidence to the T”.
He claimed the Balochistan National Army commander had been treated in a hospital in Delhi. Yusuf also accused the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan of using think-tanks as a front to funnel money to Baloch terrorists.