‘Indo-Pak War Likely in Oct-Nov’: Pak Minister Sheikh Ahmad

He said that the fate of Kashmir will be decided by Kashmiris and not by the United Nations.

Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad.

(Photo Courtesy: @ShkhRasheed/Altered by The Quint)

Continuing his attack on India in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Wednesday, 28 August, said that he feels a full-fledged war will be fought between India and Pakistan in October or November this year.

According to reports in the Pakistani media, Ahmad made this prediction at an event in Rawalpindi, organised to show solidarity with Kashmiris.

“The time of the last battle for the liberation of Kashmir has arrived and this time the war with India will be full and final,” said Ahmad.

‘All Because of PM Modi’

He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of creating trouble in Kashmir and said: “It is all because of 'Hitler' Modi that we smell war over Kashmir”.

He said the fate of Kashmir will be decided by Kashmiris and not by the United Nations.

He added that if the United Nations had wanted, a plebiscite could have been held in Kashmir.

Ahmad urged the world community to shun its silence on the festering Kashmir dispute. “We are fortunate that we have an ally like China on our side on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Ahmad said that PM Modi sees Pakistan as the only obstacle in the way of India's hegemonic designs in the region and beyond. “It is because of Modi that Kashmir is on the brink of destruction today,” he added.

Just three days ago, Ahmad had said that the war would not be one between just India and Pakistan but will encompass the whole of the Indian subcontinent.

To show solidairty with Kashmiri people, the Pakistan Army said that the 'Kashmir Hour' will be observed at 12 pm on Friday.

Talking to reporters in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will “forcefully” raise the Kashmir issue before the international community during his address to the UN General Assembly next month in New York.

On the same day, however, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and extended support to the government on the front that Kashmir is India's integral matter and that no country, including Pakistan, has any role in interfering with it.

(With inputs from IANS)