Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this week said the issue of occupied Kashmir was a major impediment to trade cooperation between Pakistan and India.

The premier made the comments in an interview aired by Belgian channel VRT.

“The Indian forces have turned the whole valley of occupied Kashmir into a jail,” PM Imran told the Belgian channel.

He added that New Delhi was denying the people of Kashmir their legitimate right to self-determination in line with the resolutions of the United Nations.

“India is even going against the promises made by past Indian leaders in this regard,” he said.

“I do not see much hope from the current Modi government in India to resolve the Kashmir issue, because he has an extremist ideology of the RSS.”

According to PM Imran, the founding fathers of RSS inspired by the racist Arian philosophy of Hitler.

They have put eight million Kashmiris, basically Muslims, in an open prison.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a right-wing Indian group.

While critical of the incumbent Indian government, the prime minister expressed hope that in the future, an Indian government with a stronger desire for peace would want the occupied Kashmir dispute to be resolved so the people of the sub-continent could prosper.

In addition to highlighting the plight of the people of occupied Kashmir, PM Imran also spoke about the economic situation of Pakistan.

“The last year was very difficult for the government but now the current account deficit has been brought down by 75 per cent in one year,” he outlined.

PM Imran further added that the economy of Pakistan was showing signs of recovery, and that things would get better this year.

He also spoke about the tourist potential of Pakistan, and the diversity of tourist sites the country offered, as well as climate change and governance issues.