Washington:
Calling Pakistan Military chief Asim Munir a dictator, US Congressman Ro Khanna has known as on Islamabad to not retaliate within the aftermath of India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ that destroyed a number of terror camps in 9 areas throughout Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) within the early hours of Could 7. Khanna additionally known as for de-escalation of rigidity between the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours that has been brewing because the April 22 Pahalgam terror assault that killed 26 civilians.
“Each have nuclear weapons. Effectively, probably the most pressing factor is de-escalation. I imply, there was a terrorist assault in Pahalgam, and harmless individuals had been killed. India took a response that helped take out a number of the terrorist networks. The necessary factor now could be for de-escalation,” the Congressman mentioned in an interview with CNN.
The Democrat hoped that US President Donald Trump had individuals in his workforce who understood the area and its diplomatic politics to assist in the decision of rigidity between India and Pakistan.
My dialogue on @TheSourceCNN concerning the tense scenario between India and Pakistan and the way in which ahead. pic.twitter.com/0g3wefRjvz
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) Could 7, 2025
“The one purpose I say is that they’ve (India and Pakistan) been combating for hundreds of years…It was British colonialism that fomented the partition, that fomented a number of the divisions between Hindus and Muslims there. It is necessary to actually perceive the area, and we have to be an trustworthy dealer for escalation,” he added.
Calling Munir a dictator, he mentioned there may be “no trustworthy voice” left in Pakistan. He additionally known as upon the Pakistani authorities to free former Prime Minister Imran Khan and cease any retaliation they is likely to be planning in opposition to India’s strike.
“We even have to know that Asim Munir is a dictator who did not have reliable elections, who has put Imran Khan in jail. There is no such thing as a trustworthy voice proper now in Pakistan, as a result of it is a dictatorship. We ought to be calling for elections, truthful elections, after the de-escalation,” he mentioned.
“There ought to be an finish to it. We now have lots of leverage with Pakistan. We give the IMF loans to Pakistan. They’re dependent upon that. We ought to be saying to Asim Munir that he must free Imran Khan, cease any retaliation after which have a good election, as a result of there was a rigged election,” Khanna added.
No less than 12 individuals, together with 4 kids, had been killed and 57 others injured because the Pakistan Military carried out heavy artillery and mortar shelling on ahead villages alongside the Line of Management in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. The extreme cross-border shelling started shortly after India launched missiles on 9 terror targets in Pakistan and POK.
The worst-hit within the Pakistani shelling was Poonch district, which accounted for all of the civilian deaths, the officers mentioned. They mentioned 42 individuals had been injured and a few of them are in a important situation.