Monday, 23 September 2019

US has 'responsibility' to Kashmiri people, PM Imran tells Trump

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday met US President Donald Trump
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday met US President Donald Trump in a televised event during which reporters were also present. They met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) 74th session.

The two spoke about the ongoing situation in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, with PM Imran telling Trump that he felt that it was "the beginning of a crisis".

Addressing the US president and the reporters, he said: "Trump heads the most powerful country in the world. And the most powerful country in the world has a responsibility.

"I honestly feel that this crisis could become much bigger. We look to the US to put out flames in the world," the PM said.

Trump, on the other hand, noted that "many countries wanted to meet with me and we were unable to meet with them". He added: "I will tell you this: You have a great leader. He's a good man, a nice man. Happens to be a great athlete."

Earlier today, PM Imran had told the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that he would make a new pitch to Trump to mediate on Kashmir, which is divided between Pakistan and India.

Trump met with the Pakistani PM a day after attending a rally in Houston that was organised by Indian PM Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist whose government last month revoked the Muslim-majority Himalayan region's autonomy and cut off most ordinary people's cellular and internet service.

The Trump-Khan meeting was the second one since July when the US president had offered to mediate on Kashmir dispute. Trump also held telephone talks with the leaders of Pakistan and India in August amid the lock-down in the occupied Kashmir.

Earlier in the day, PM Imran met his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, over breakfast, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was expected to call on the PM later.

Other important engagements of PM Imran included meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Swiss President Ueli Maurer, World Bank President David Malpass, and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

The premier also spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York shortly before meeting Trump.a




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