Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan once again raised a possibility that they use nuclear weapons in case they lose a conventional war with India.

In an interview to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Khan said, “When two nuclear-armed countries fight, if they fight a conventional war, there is every possibility that it is going to end up into nuclear war. The unthinkable.”

However, after raising the possibility of a nuclear war, Khan stressed on the point that Pakistan will never start a war. “I am a pacifist, I am anti-war. If say Pakistan, God forbid, we are fighting a conventional war, we are losing, and if a country is stuck between the choice: either you surrender or you fight till death for your freedom, I know Pakistanis will fight to the death for their freedom.”

In the interview, Khan expressed his disappointment over global responses being in favour of India on Kashmir, reported The Times of India. “Unfortunately, because of this whole thing about big markets, they look upon India as a market of one billion people, they don’t realise that if they do not intervene right now, it will have consequences for not only the subcontinent but also on the world’s trade – everyone will be affected by this.”

Imran Khan’s reaction comes a day after he claimed support from 58 countries at the UNHRC against India’s use of force in Kashmir in a tweet. The tweet was factually wrong as there are only 47 members in the UNHRC.

I commend the 58 countries that joined Pakistan in Human Rights Council on 10 Sept reinforcing demands of int community for India to stop use of force, lift siege, remove other restrictions, respect & protect Kashmiris’ rights & resolve Kashmir dispute through UNSC resolutions.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 12, 2019

Meanwhile, some of the influential Muslim nations have asked Pakistan to tone down its rhetoric and opt for backdoor diplomacy.

According to an Economic Times report, when Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Al-Nahyan travelled together to Islamabad on September 3, they asked Pakistan to engage in backchannel diplomacy with India.

FATF Threat Looms

Khan also mentioned the looming threat of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisting Pakistan. “If Pakistan is pushed into the blacklist of FATF that means there will be sanctions on Pakistan. So they were trying to bankrupt us economically, so that’s when we pulled back. And that’s when we realised that this government is on an agenda … to push Pakistan to disaster,” said Khan.

Last week the Indian intelligence inputs claimed that Pakistan had reactivated seven terror launchpads and several other terror camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

The news came at a time when 15 member Pakistani delegation led by Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar had to convince the Asia-Pacific joint group of FATF as to why they should not be blacklisted at the Paris review from October 16-18.

Imran Khan is set to visit leaders of FATF nations for their support at the Paris meeting to prevent Pakistan from getting blacklisted.

Also Read: Pakistan Reactivates Seven Terror Launch Pads In PoK Amid Review Meeting On Terror Financing