Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan asked Sunday if the international community would stand by as Indian Hindu nationalism spread into Muslim-majority Kashmir, saying it was the same as appeasing Hitler.
His outrage on Twitter came as tensions simmered between the two countries over Kashmir after New Delhi last week rescinded constitutional autonomy enjoyed by the state and gave full control to the central government. Article 370 was the constitutional provision that allowed Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomy over laws - a feature not enjoyed by other Indian states. Indian citizens, other than Kashmiris, could not buy land in Kashmir according to Article 370.
Kashmir has been under virtual lockdown since shortly before the move, with a curfew across the region, and phone and internet lines cut - ostensibly to prevent unrest.
Article 370 was a constitutional provision that allowed Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomy over laws - a feature not enjoyed by other Indian states. Indian citizens, other than Kashmiris, could not buy land in Kashmir according to Article 370.
Huge numbers of troops are patrolling the streets of major centres, and security forces reportedly used tear gas Friday to break up a demonstration by about 8,000 people against the government's move.
Pre-independence Kashmir was split between India and Pakistan 1947, followed by continuing tensions for decaseds till now over authority over the Himalayan region.
Khan tweeted that the "ideology of Hindu Supremacy, like the Nazi Aryan Supremacy, will not stop" in Kashmir.
Describing the move as "the Hindu Supremacists version of Hitler's Lebensraum", he said it would lead to "the suppression of Muslims in India & eventually lead to targeting of Pakistan".
"Attempt is to change demography of Kashmir through ethnic cleansing," he tweeted. "Question is: Will the world watch & appease as they did Hitler at Munich?"
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted last week that the decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy was necessary for its economic development and also to “stop terrorism".
He said with Kashmir now fully part of the Indian union, the region would enjoy more jobs and less corruption and red-tape, adding key infrastructure projects would be expedited.
Previously, under its constitutional autonomy, Kashmiris enjoyed special privileges such as the sole right to own land and take government jobs or university scholarships.
Islamabad has been infuriated by New Delhi's moves and has expelled the Indian envoy, halted what little bilateral trade exists and suspended cross-border transport services.
