Pakistan said the SC ruling upholding the repeal of Art. 370 has “no legal value.”
Pakistan said on Monday that the international community does not recognize New Delhi’s “unilateral and illegal actions” of August 5, 2019, claiming that the Supreme Court of India’s ruling supporting the abrogation of Article 370 has “no legal value”. The Centre government’s August 2019 decision to revoke Article 370, which gave the former state of Jammu and Kashmir special status, was unanimously maintained by the Supreme Court on Monday.
“On August 5, 2019, India took unilateral and unlawful steps that are not recognized by international law. There is no legal significance to the Indian Supreme Court’s judicial support. In line with pertinent UNSC resolutions, Kashmiris possess an unalienable right to self-determination, according to acting Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. Jilani said that India has “no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory” in defiance of the wishes of Pakistan and the Kashmiri people during a news conference in Islamabad.
“Pakistan vehemently disagrees with the ruling made by the Indian Supreme Court regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. He called it “a travesty of justice” because the courts were endorsing India’s “unilateral and illegal actions.”
He said that Jammu and Kashmir is a well-acknowledged conflict that has been on the UN Security Council’s agenda for more than 70 years. He said, “The ultimate decision regarding Jammu and Kashmir must be made in line with the pertinent resolutions of the UN Security Council and in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.” “Pakistan does not recognize that Jammu and Kashmir is subordinate to the Indian Constitution. Any procedure that complies with the Indian Constitution has no legal bearing. India cannot renounce its international commitments under the guise of national laws and court decisions, the speaker said.
Due to Pakistan’s involvement in cross-border terrorism and the Kashmir dispute, relations between India and Pakistan have often been tense. But once India revoked Article 370, Pakistan lowered commercial relations with India, expulsed its representative, and their relations soured badly. India has often said that Kashmir is a domestic issue and that it wants to have cordial, friendly ties with Pakistan in a setting free from hatred, bloodshed, and terror.
Since August 5, 2019, Gilani said, India has started using “unilateral and illegal measures” with the intention of altering Kashmir’s political and demographic environment.
“They continue to be a serious threat to Pakistan since their ultimate objective is to reduce the Kashmiris to a subservient minority inside their own territory. In order to foster a climate of peace and communication, these actions must be reversed, the speaker said. The minister said that Pakistan would keep helping the people of Kashmir realize their unalienable right to self-determination by providing them with all of its political, diplomatic, and moral assistance.
“All stakeholders will be called to a meeting soon to decide on our next course of action,” he said. In response to a query, he said that Pakistan wants to see the LoC remain peaceful after this choice.
