Pak expels Indian envoy as Kashmir row deepens
Pakistan said on Wednesday it would expel India’s ambassador and suspend bilateral trade with its neighbour ater New Delhi stripped its portion of the contested Kashmir region of special status.
The political crisis over the disputed territory of Kashmir escalated on Wednesday when Pakistan said it would downgrade its diplomatic ties with India, expel the Indian ambassador and suspend bilateral trade with its neighbour.
China and Pakistan, which both claim parts of Kashmir, have voiced fierce opposition to India’s removal of a constitutional provision that had allowed the country’s only Muslim-majority state to make its own laws.
In response to India’s action, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told parliament that it will expel the Indian ambassador, and the foreign ministry later said India has been informed to withdraw the envoy. The decision came at a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Commitee (NSC) led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the heads of the armed forces and senior government officials, which continued for more than three hours.
Moin-ul Haq, Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador to India, has yet to take up his post but will now not move to New Delhi, while Indian Ambassador Ajay Bisaria will be expelled, Islamabad said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It is very obvious that our ambassador wouldn’t be in Delhi, and obviously the man who is here will also leave,” Qureshi said in a telephone interview with Pakistani TV channel ARY News.
A spokesman for India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pakistan’s move.
The NSC decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with India, suspend bilateral trade, review bilateral arrangements and take the annexation of occupied Kashmir by India to the United Nations, including the Security Council.
It was also decided that the Independence Day on Aug.14 will be observed in solidarity with brave Kashmiris and their just struggle for their right of self-determination. The Aug.15 will be observed as Black Day.
The prime minister directed that all diplomatic channels be activated to expose brutal Indian racist regime, design and human rights violations. He directed the armed forces to continue vigilance.
According to a media report, Pakistan has closed its airspace partially. Three out of 11 routes between India and Pakistan have been closed. Air India issued a statement saying it won›t affect them.
Thousands of Indian security forces kept a lid on protests in Kashmir on Wednesday, helped by the continued suspension of telephone and internet services ater the Himalayan region’s special status was scrapped this week.
Earlier, Pakistani lawmakers in a joint session of parliament denounced the action on Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The changes include liting a ban on property purchases by nonresidents of Kashmir, opening the way for Indians outside the territory to invest and settle there.
Pakistan continued its efforts to win diplomatic support for its stance against India’s move, with Imran reaching out to Britain and Saudi Arabia, while Qureshi is to leave for Beijing to discuss further steps in countering India.
Imran, who had dialled his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to convey Pakistan’s condemnation of India’s move, on Wednesday spoke over phone with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Imran briefed Johnson about the Indian move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to details, both the leaders agreed that the issue needs to be resolved through dialogue.
In his talk with the Saudi Crown Prince, the two leaders “discussed the development of the situation in the region and efforts exerted towards it,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
Meanwhile, Qureshi said he might leave for Beijing to consult with the Chinese leadership on how to proceed further ater Modi-led government’s move in Kashmir.
Hit by a complete security lockdown in Kashmir, hundreds of poor migrant workers have begun fleeing the region to return to their far-away villages in northern and eastern India.
Imran telephones Saudi CP, British PM; parliament passes resolution condemning India’s ‘unilateral move’ on Kashmir; hundreds of poor migrant workers flee Kashmir under lockdown.