–Says person worthy of award would be one who resolves Kashmir issue according to Kashmiris’ aspirations
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said he “was not worthy” of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The prime minister was addressing calls by people on social media and in his government to award him a Nobel Peace Prize for making efforts to defuse the escalation with India.
“The person worthy of this would be the one who solves the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people, and paves the way for peace and human development in the subcontinent,” he said in a tweet.
I am not worthy of the Nobel Peace prize. The person worthy of this would be the one who solves the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people and paves the way for peace & human development in the subcontinent.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 4, 2019
On Saturday, more than 300,000 people signed online petitions calling for Imran Khan to be given Nobel Peace Prize after he freed an Indian pilot in a bid to defuse tensions with his country’s arch-rival neighbour.
The capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had become the focus of renewed hostilities between the nuclear-armed rivals which have alarmed the international community.
Tensions have soared since a suicide bombing in occupied Kashmir last month killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
The hashtag #NobelPeaceForImranKhan began trending on Twitter on Thursday after Khan unexpectedly announced that the captured pilot would be released as a “peace gesture”.
Abhinandan, whose MiG fighter was shot down by Pakistan, returned to India late Friday.
Furthermore, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry also submitted a resolution in parliament demanding PM Imran be given the award for his contribution to peace in the region.
“Imran Khan played a sagacious role in de-escalating tension between Pakistan and India,” the resolution said.