Pakistani PM Khan slams media’s ‘double standard’ on Hong Kong and Kashmir

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused media outlets of a “double standard” by focusing on anti-China protests in Hong Kong and not covering enough the issue of disputed Kashmir region.

Speaking after a trip to Beijing, Khan reiterated his support for the Chinese government, saying that while Hong Kong “is a part of China,” Kashmir “is a disputed territory.”

The crisis there “hardly gets reported in international media," the Pakistani leader told a rally in Islamabad on Friday.

"As far as I know, till now only a few people have been injured, maybe two or three people have been killed due to accidents,” Khan said of Hong Kong. In Kashmir, he claimed that thousands have perished in the last three decades of strife.

Kashmir is a territory disputed between India and Pakistan. The Indian-administered part of Kashmir has been on lockdown since August, when the government revoked its semi-autonomous status. New Delhi said it has been done to improve security, accusing Pakistan of fueling tensions in the region.

Though a curfew in the region has since been lifted, Kashmir is subject to an increased Indian military presence and restrictions on movement.

Hong Kong has been consumed by protests since June, which broke out in opposition to an extradition bill that would make it easier for prisoners to be brought to mainland China for trial. The bill has since been shelved, but demonstrations have grown into a wider display of anger against Beijing. While China has allowed Hong Kong to function mostly autonomously since it was returned from British control in 1997, the city’s protesters claim that full integration with Beijing in 2047 will bring a loss of freedom.

With protesters adopting American flags and iconography, China has accused Washington of being “insanely involved” in formenting and publicizing the protests, a charge the White House denies.

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