Burma Campaign UK is calling on Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, to stop arming the Burmese military.
Pakistan has a long-term defence co-operation agreement with the Burmese military and has been supplying them with arms and equipment, most notably the JF-17 fighter jet aircraft.
Now there are new media reports that Pakistan is about to sell mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns to the Burmese military, as well as selling more jets and missiles.
A Burmese military delegation is reportedly visiting Pakistan soon to inspect the weapons before shipment.
These fighter jets, guns, mortars and missiles will be used against civilians, bringing even more death and destruction.
Before he became Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan condemned the genocide of the Rohingya, stating on Twitter:
“Disturbing silence from Muslim World, including Pakistan on the genocide & exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.”
Disturbing silence from Muslim World, including Pakistan on the genocide & exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2015
“It is hard to think of a clearer example of hypocrisy than for Imran Khan to condemn inaction on the Rohingya genocide and then arm the military which committed that genocide,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK.
In 2017, Imran Khan also wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations, condemning inaction by the United Nations, stating:
“Today, again, on behalf of myself and my party (PTI), I wish to state that we find this continuing silence and complete inaction by the UN on the continuing plight and persecution of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar a shameful testament to UN failure to follow its basic principles of upholding human rights and protecting a people from genocide.”
In June 2021, the United Nations General Assembly passed a Resolution calling on UN members to stop the flow of arms to the Burmese military. Having previously condemned the UN for inaction, Imran Khan is now refusing to take the action which the United Nations has called for.
Burma Campaign UK has written to Imran Khan warning him: “The weapons you are selling to the Myanmar military today may soon be turned against the Rohingya people whose rights you once supported.”
The Burmese military are indiscriminately bombing civilians and using heavy artillery against civilian villages and towns. This has forced more than 400,000 people to flee their homes and has created a humanitarian crisis.
As the Myanmar military desperately try to impose their rule, more than 1,500 people have been killed, and more than 11,000 arrested.
“Imran Khan should side with the people of Burma, not the military which is oppressing and killing them,” said Anna Roberts. “Imran Khan must stop profiting from the suffering of the people of Burma. By arming the Burmese military, Imran Khan is complicit in the human rights violations they commit.”
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