Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned and ‘rejected’ Indian government’s decision to revoke Article 370 and scrap the special status for disputed Kashmir through a presidential decree hours after imposing a major security clampdown in the region.
“The Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory,” the Foreign Office said in a press statement. It further said that no unilateral step by India can change the disputed status, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“Nor will this ever be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. As a party to the international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps,” the statement added.
It said that it would “exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps” taken by India regarding Indian-occupied Kashmir. “Pakistan reaffirms its abiding commitment to the Kashmir cause and its political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir for realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination,” it maintained.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the Kashmir cause and said it will raise the matter with the United States and other international stakeholders.
“We intend to firmly highlight our stance in our meetings with the US delegation visiting Pakistan and with the international community at large,” the minister said in a tweet.
In comments made earlier in the day, Qureshi called on the United Nations to play its due role in resolving the Kashmir issue. “Today is a black day in the history of Kashmir. We cannot stay silent on the issue.”
He said India was losing credibility on the international front as the people of IoK have opposed the Modi government’s decision. “The secular India of Nehru and Gandhi is dead. I foresee further repression; abrogation of Article 370 will lead to more bloodbath in IoK.”In the wake of the
deteriorating situation in occupied Kashmir, a joint session of parliament has been summoned today.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while speaking to media, said that if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government of India felt that their policies were effective, they would not have imposed governor’s rule or conducted politics through presidential orders.
“If they have turned IoK and Ladhak into union territories, it is evident that they have lost hope […] Kashmiris that used to support them earlier are also in jail or under house arrest.
“Today, India has once again revived and internationalised the Kashmir issue. This will not solve the problem, rather it will escalate it,” he warned. “They will never be able to repress the issue. “Time will show what a dangerous game has been played,” he said.
Pakistan Muslim League-N president and opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif termed the move “unacceptable” and an “act of treason” against the United Nations. He also called on the Pakistani leadership to immediately demand an emergency session of the UN Security Council and to consult with China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other friendly countries. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the move and lamented that the atrocities by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir were continuing unabated.“Atrocities in IOK unabated. Extremist Indian govt’s intentions clear. President must immediately summon Joint session of Parliament in wake of Indian aggression in IOK,” he tweeted.
