NEW DELHI: Days after the central government repealed Jammu & Kashmir 's special status embedded in Article 370 and moved to bifurcate the state into the 2 union territories of J&K and Ladakh , reactions have been coming in from across the world -- with some countries calling it India's internal matter and urging restraint from both India and Pakistan.

US remains neutral

The US president, normally vocal with his views, has been conspicuously silent on the matter. Just days ago, Trump had offered mediation to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on the Kashmir issue, later modifying his offer to clarify that he would do so if PM Narandra Modi invited him to do so.

The US president hasn't issued a statement on the latest developments pertaining to Article 370. However, his administration clarified on Wednesday that New Delhi "did not consult of inform the US government before moving to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status."

But the US state department appeared neutral on the matter, acknowledging the Indian government's claim that its actions are "strictly an internal matter" even as it expressed concern about reports of detentions and urged "respect for individual rights and discussions with those in affected communities." The department also called on "all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control," without mentioning Pakistan.

UAE backs move

The United Arab Emirates has backed the decision to reorganize J&K with UAE’s ambassador Ahmad Al Banna quoted as saying that he hoped India’s move would help improve social and economic conditions in the state.

A report in Gulf News said, “He (Al Banna) commented that from his understanding, the reorganisation of states is not a unique incident in the history of independent India and that it was mainly aimed at reducing regional disparity and improving efficiency. He viewed this latest decision related to the state of J&K as an internal matter as stipulated by the Indian Constitution."

Sri Lanka calls it internal matter of India

Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said making Ladakh a union territory was an internal matter of India. “The creation of Ladakh and the consequential restructuring are India’s internal matters,” he said on social media.

The Lanka PM, however, faced some criticism for saying that Ladakh was turning into another state and that it had a Buddhist majority. The Ladakh region, including Kargil, in fact has more Muslims, mostly Shia, than Buddhists.

“I understand Ladakh will finally become an Indian state. Buddhists are 70% of Ladakh’s population and it will be the first Indian state with Buddhist majority,” he had said.

China protests move

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has accused India of continuing to undermine Beijing’s “territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law.”

Hua said China had always opposed the Indian side’s “entry of Chinese territory in the western section’’ of the Sino-Indian border into the administrative jurisdiction of India.

“This position is firm and consistent and has never changed. Recently, the Indian side has continued to damage China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally modifying the form of domestic law. This practice is unacceptable and will not have any effect,’’ she said.

She urged India “to be cautious in its words and actions on the boundary issue, strictly abide by the relevant agreements reached between the two sides and avoid any move that further complicates the boundary issue”.

Hua also said China was “seriously concerned” about the current situation in Kashmir. “The parties concerned should exercise restraint and act with caution, especially to avoid actions that unilaterally change the status quo and exacerbate the tension,” she added.

Malaysia calls for restraint

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has expressed hope that India and Pakistan would exercise "utmost restraint".

Following a briefing by Pak PM Imran Khan, a statement from Mahathir's office said: "Prime Minister Imran Khan among others, referred to the need to respect the relevant UN Security Council resolutions related to Jammu and Kashmir."

"Malaysia would like to encourage all stakeholders to abide by the relevant USNC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir towards the maintenance of international peace and security.

"As a close partner to both India and Pakistan, Malaysia places high hope that the two neighbours will exercise utmost restraint to prevent further escalation that could be detrimental to the peace, stability and prosperity in the region," the statement said.

UK expresses concern on situation

UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he had spoken to external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and received clarity on India's stand on the announcement earlier this week.

"We've expressed some of our concerns around the situation and called for calm, but also had a clear readout of the situation from the perspective of the Indian government," Raab said.

Britain's parliamentarians remain divided over the issue, with some from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir expressing grave concern and calling for a moratorium on the decision and others hailing the move for paving the way for economic development in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bangladesh, Maldives call it India's 'internal matter'

Backing the move, the Maldives government said, "The Maldives considers the decision taken by the Government of India regarding Article 370 of the Indian Constitution as an internal matter."

"We believe that it is the right of every sovereign nation to amend their laws as required," it said in a statement.

Neighbouring Bangladesh echoed the view. Speaking at a function in Dhaka, the country's road transport and bridges minister and the ruling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Qader said that Bangladesh does not make comments on a neighbour's internal issues.

Meanwhile, according to agencies, Imran Khan has held phone conversations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey's President Recep Tayyib Erdogan - but no official statement has been made.

