india

Updated: Nov 01, 2019 03:46 IST

Pakistan on Thursday rejected the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories as “illegal and void” and said India’s purpose behind these “unilateral changes” is to alter the region’s demographic structure.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement late in the evening that the changing of the status quo of J&K is “in complete violation of the UN Security Council Resolutions and Bilateral Agreements between India and Pakistan, especially the Simla Agreement.”

“The Indian occupied J&K is an internationally recognised disputed territory. No step by the government of India can change this,” Pakistan Foreign Office said.

Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated on Thursday into two Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — after Centre revoked the state’s special status under Article 370 on August 5.

Pakistan said India move to abrogate special status for Jammu and Kashmir was “forced upon the people” of the erstwhile state “through the barrel of gun by turning the region into a prison by over 900,000 Indian security forces”.

“Political leaders, civil society members, and common people including women and young children remain under illegal detention. An iron curtain remains in place on more than 8 million Kashmiri people snapping their communications with the outside world,” it said.

“Curfew remains imposed and movement of people restricted. Many people, especially women and children, are being continuously abused and tortured by Indian occupation forces,” it added.

Before this, Pakistan’s close ally China had lashed out at India for changing the status of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, calling the reorganisation of the former state to two separate union territories (UT) as “unlawful and void”.

Beijing said the move violated Chinese sovereignty but will also not change the situation on the ground as part of the area in the former state remains under Chinese control.

India had shot back, saying the matter of reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories is “entirely an internal affair of India” and that the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were “an integral part” of the country.

Pakistan, on its part, said the illegal and unilateral changes effected by India are in no way an “internal matter” as the J-K dispute remains on the agenda of the Security Council, it added.

The statement said that the “purpose of these illegal changes is neither development of the region nor welfare of the Kashmiri people. The real motive is to alter the demographic structure of the Muslim majority state in pursuance of the extremist “Hindutva” ideology”.

“The international community must take notice that transfer of civilian population from outside into Jammu and Kashmir is in grave violation of the international laws particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention,” it said.

The statement said the move “threatens to destabilise the peace, security and stability of the South Asian region as well as the world”.

“Pakistan would continue to extend its full moral, political and diplomatic support to the suffering Kashmiri brothers and sisters until the realization of the inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions,” the statement said.