NEW DELHI: Lashing out at Pakistan for allegedly glorifying terrorists, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday declared that the country will not bow before terrorism even as he said people of Baluchistan and AJK have thanked him for raising issue of atrocities against them.
In a 90-minute address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi made no reference to the situation in Indian held Kashmir valley which has been rocked by violence after the killing of Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani, but accused Pakistan of glorifying terrorists and celebrating killings in India. This was an obvious reference to Wani who has been hailed as a martyr by Pakistan, which was not directly named by him.
Modi came out openly in support of “freedom” for Balochistan and “Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK)”.
“I want to speak a bit about the people in Balochistan, Gilgit, Baltistan, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said in his 70th Independence Day speech from the Red Fort.
“The world is watching. People of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have thanked me a lot in the past few days,” Modi said while adding “I am grateful to them.”
He said the way people from these Pakistani regions “wished me well, gives me great joy”.
Modi asked the international community to judge the behaviour of India and Pakistan in the context of terror attacks in each other’s country, but avoided the reference of Indian occupation forces atrocities in held Kashmir.
“When children were killed in terror attack on a school in Peshawar (about two years back), there were tears in our Parliament. Indian children were traumatised. This is the example of our humanity. But look at the other side where terrorism is glorified,” Modi said.
Referring to the eulogising of Burhan Wani in Pakistan, he questioned what kind of policy is the one which celebrates a terrorist.
Modi, who during his speech at an all-party meeting on Kashmir on Friday last had slammed Pakistan for carrying out atrocities against people of Baluchistan and PoK, said people hailing from those areas have thanked him a lot since then and he is grateful to them.
Narendra Modi made it clear that he has completely rerouted his policy on Pakistan with aggressive comments referring to Pakistan’s human rights abuses in its large province of Balochistan as well as Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
