ISLAMABAD: India’s revocation of Kashmir’s special status is a “unilateral and unjust” move that will jeopardize regional peace, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told Arab News.
Article 370, which New Delhi has revoked, gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir significant autonomy from the rest of India.
“Just when the Afghan peace process was making smooth headway, India has played the role of a spoiler by creating this distraction,” he said from Jeddah, where he was attending an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Kashmir on Sunday.
“Russia, China, Central Asian republics and Pakistan all have a shared objective to have peace restored in Afghanistan, a cease-fire implemented and stability returned to the country,” he added.
“This kind of diversion … at such a sensitive point neither serves the region nor helps US interests. They (India) have rather hindered (the peace process).”
Qureshi said Islamabad will “use all diplomatic, legal and political options” against the Indian move.
“Pakistan has not only taken up the issue with the US, but also has started using its diplomatic contacts with China, Russia and other world powers,” he added.
He said New Delhi had rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump to mediate between Pakistan and India.
“Now, Pakistan will use the UN Security Council, as well as other humanitarian and legal ways, to take up the volatile issue of Kashmir,” Qureshi added.
“Our legal experts are looking into all the possible dimensions to use the International Court of Justice or other legal platforms,” he said.
“The world has not only condemned India’s ruthlessly imposed decision on the Kashmiri people, but has rejected it altogether.”
The Kashmiri diaspora is in “sheer anguish,” while “Indian legal experts are saying the decision is unlawful and can be a big challenge” for New Delhi, Qureshi said. “It will create chaos within India.”
Pakistan has constituted a seven-member committee to review the political, diplomatic and legal aspects of responding to India’s move.
The committee comprises Qureshi, Pakistan’s attorney general, its foreign secretary, a renowned international law expert and three top generals.
