Pakistan downgrades Indian ties
500 arrests made during a security lockdown in India-controlled Kashmir
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI - 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 regional rival.
Indian authorities have launched a complete shutdown on India-controlled Kashmir as the Hindu-led nationalist government in New Delhi scrapped the region's statehood and special status, including the right to its own Constitution. The majority of people in both the India-and Pakistan-controlled areas of Kashmir are Muslims.
India on Thursday urged Pakistan to review its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties.
Meanwhile, a petition was filed in India's top court challenging the communications blackout and security clampdown in India-controlled Kashmir, where people remained holed up in their homes for a fourth day.
State-run All India Radio said security agencies have arrested more than 500 people in the India-controlled Kashmir apparently to prevent any outbreak of violence.
Activist Ali Mohammed told the New Delhi Television news channel that he has been organizing ambulances to carry sick people to hospitals in Srinagar, the main city in India's portion of Kashmir, as local residents can't even use phones to ask for medical help.
"It's hell," a patient told the television channel.
It also reported cross-border firing by Indian and Pakistani troops in the Rajouri sector of the India-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to address the nation on Thursday to discuss Kashmir issue.
As the security lock-down by Indian troops continued, hundreds of migrant workers began the long trek back to their villages in northern and eastern India.
The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan, and is claimed by both. The two have fought three wars, two of them over control of the mountainous region since they won independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.
India-controlled Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state and most people there oppose Indian rule. Insurgent groups have been fighting for independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989.
The Indian government has shut off most communications, including internet, cellphone and land-line networks in the region. Thousands of additional troops were sent to the already heavily militarized region out of fear the government's steps could spark unrest.
'All diplomatic channels'
In response to India's action, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad will expel the Indian ambassador. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry later said India had been informed to withdraw the envoy. The decision came at a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the heads of the armed forces and senior government officials.
Khan told the meeting that his government will use all diplomatic channels to expose human rights violations in Kashmir, the government statement said. He also directed Pakistan's armed forces to remain on maximum alert.
Islamabad also said it will review other aspects of its relations with India. Qureshi said Pakistan will ask the United Nations Security Council to pressure India to reverse its decision.
Local reports said that Khan has made a telephone conversation to his British counterpart Boris Johnson. However, the details of the conversation were not revealed yet.
Pakistan said it would continue extending diplomatic, political and moral support for people living in Kashmir and their "right of self-determination". Pakistan has long called for people in the India-controlled Kashmir to be allowed to vote on whether they want to sever ties with India.
The United States has said it supports direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on the disputed region and called for calm and restraint.
Agencies - Xinhua
(China Daily 08/09/2019 page11)