ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday called on the international community to pressure India to restore the special status of Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir, end repression in the Valley, and foster conditions conducive to resolving the longstanding dispute threatening regional stability.

The call was made during a briefing for Islamabad-based foreign diplomats at the Foreign Office, where Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi detailed the conditions in the Indian-held disputed territory and discussed the repercussions of India’s actions of August 2019, from the standpoints of international law, human rights, and peace and security.

On August 5, 2019, the Indian government annulled Articles 370 and 35-A of its constitution, stripping the occupied region of its special status and ending the constitutional promise to protect the area’s demographic composition.

Next week marks the fifth anniversary of India’s controversial action, which Pakistan condemned as “illegal and unilateral”.

Islamabad contends that the move further deprived people of held Kashmir of their rights, rendered them a disempowered minority in their own territory and aimed to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2024