India on Thursday said that Pakistan's decision to downgrade diplomatic ties and stop trade were aimed at presenting an alarming picture to the world of the state of bilateral ties and urged Islamabad to review them.

“The Government of India regrets the steps announced by Pakistan yesterday and would urge that country to review them so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved, “ the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The intention behind these measures is obviously to present an alarming picture to the world of our bilateral ties. The reasons cited by Pakistan are not supported by facts on the ground," the statement said.

Pakistan’s move to whittle down diplomatic and trade relations came after India revoked a provision in its constitution to integrate Jammu and Kashmir fully with India. Islamabad on its part condemned the unilateral move given that it claims the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir and says it is disputed with India.

@Recent decisions by the Government and Parliament of India are driven by a commitment to extend to Jammu and Kashmir opportunities for development that were earlier denied by a temporary provision in the Constitution," the Indian foreign ministry said.

“ Its impact would also result in the removal of gender and socio-economic discrimination. It is also expected to result in an upswing of economic activity and improvement in the livelihood prospects of all people of Jammu and Kashmir."

“It is not surprising that such developmental initiatives that could address any disaffection in Jammu and Kashmir should be negatively perceived in Pakistan, which has utilized such sentiments to justify its cross-border terrorism," it said.

Underlining that the move to revoke Article 370 was “entirely the internal affair of India," the statement said, “Seeking to interfere in that jurisdiction by invoking an alarmist vision of the region will never succeed."

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