Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a high-level meeting where attendees included army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Special Assistant on Strategic Policy Planning Dr Moeed Waseem Yousaf, ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and other senior officials.

The meeting was convened a day after the UN Security Council for the second time in five months discussed the IOJ&K situation. The discussions were held at the request of China, one of the five permanent members of the 15-member UN body.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan is ready for a referendum or a plebiscite in Kashmir in order to end the blockades imposed on the people of Kashmir. A day earlier before the high-level meeting, the UNSC had discussed the situation prevailing in Kashmir due to which PM Khan made the statement during an interview with Germany's DW TV. 

“India, which is a nuclear-armed country of 1.3 billion people, is in the hands of extremists,” PM Khan said in the DW TV interview. “India has been taken over by a racially extremist exclusive ideology, which is called Hindutva,” he added.

“The Hindutva ideology draws its strength from RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh],” PM Khan said. “I’m afraid this is going to pose a threat not just to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries or to India’s minorities, but eventually this will be a threat to world peace.”

Asked about the human rights situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the prime minister invited the world to visit and see the situation in AJK. “We invite the world, and anybody can come and see the Pakistani part of Kashmir, then they go and see the Indian side of Kashmir.”

He said Azad Kashmir holds free and fair elections and it elects its own government. “Like any other administration, they have their problems. But as I said, let us invite observers from all over the world. I assure you that they can go to the Pakistan side of Kashmir but won’t be allowed on the Indian side,” he added.

“Let the people of Kashmir decide what they want. Pakistan is ready for a referendum or a plebiscite. Let them decide whether they want to remain with Pakistan or to be independent,” he added, while responding to another question.