Khan talks Afghan peace, Kashmir
NEWYORK: Going on the offensive against India, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spent the second day of his visit to the US briefing American lawmakers on the Kashmir issue.
He met US Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham, according to media reports.
Before leaving for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Khan had vowed to raise the Kashmir issue on all available platforms.
During his stay in New York, Imran Khan will hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various regions.
He will attend and speak at other side events co-hosted by Pakistan and Turkey on countering hate speech. A trilateral summit of Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey will also be held on the UNGA sidelines.
Khan met US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Sunday, according to foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is accompanying the prime minister.
Khalilzad shared “how far his negotiations with the Taliban had gone, the nature of the talks and what expectations he holds i n t he f uture”, Dawn news reported. The US envoy presented his entire analysis of the Us-taliban talks, Qureshi told reporters.
Graham was one of four Senators who had written to US President Donald Trump to call to his attention the “worrying situation” in Kashmir.
“We thanked him (Graham) for taking on the responsibility to raise his voice for the unarmed Kashmiris...,” Qureshi said, adding that the visiting Pakist ani del e g at i on had requested senator Graham to continue to raise his voice and told him that US Congress can play an important role in this.
Khan reached New York on Saturday where he will address the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on September 27, which would focus on Pakistan’s perspective and position on the Kashmir issue.