ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday it was “disappointed” by a recent Twitter post by the US Department of State in which it welcomed the resumption of high-speed internet service in Indian-administered Kashmir without making any reference to the disputed status of the region.
The State Department had applauded India’s decision to restart 4G internet service in the Himalayan territory on Wednesday, calling it an “important step for local residents” and saying that the administration in Washington looked forward to “continued political & economic progress to restore normalcy” in the area.
Last week, New Delhi lifted a ban on high-speed internet service in Kashmir that was imposed in August 2019 when the special status of the region was abolished and it was annexed with the rest of the Indian union.
The decision to suspend the internet service was taken to avoid resistance against the political move. India also imposed a strict curfew in the Muslim-majority state and detained its high-profile political leaders to prevent a possible backlash.
“Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UNSC, which remains unresolved because of India’s intransigence and unwillingness to implement the relevant UNSC resolutions and its own solemn commitments made to Pakistan, the Kashmiris and the international community,” said the official statement issued in Islamabad on Thursday. “The political and economic progress of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is inextricably linked to the realization of their desire for exercising the right to self-determination.”
According to Dawn, a local Pakistani newspaper, the US State Department clarified its Twitter post in a news conference after journalists inquired if the Biden administration no longer recognized Kashmir as a disputed territory.
“I want to be very clear, there has been no change in US policy in the region,” the State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, said while pointing out that the US continued to view Kashmir as an area disputed between India and Pakistan.
The foreign ministry, however, emphasized in its statement on Thursday that the international community, including the United States, should urge New Delhi to stop “systematic human rights violations” in Kashmir.
It also maintained that India should take “genuine steps to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions.”
