LONDON: Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said he has expressed concern to his Indian counterpart about the situation in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. “I have spoken to the Indian foreign minister,” he said on Wednesday.
“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.”
Pakistan said it would downgrade diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India after New Delhi stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status granted under the country’s constitution.—Reuters
Meanwhile, a 67-year-old international body of legal experts has assailed the Indian government’s decision and termed it a blow to the rule of law and human rights in the disputed region and in India itself, adds our monitoring desk.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said the decision would surely be challenged in Indian courts and therefore all eyes were on India’s top court to fulfil its duty in this regard.
International body of jurists terms decision blow to rule of law
In a statement, ICJ’s secretary general Sam Zarifi said: “The Indian government’s revocation of the autonomy and special status of Jammu and Kashmir violates the rights of representation and participation guaranteed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian constitution and in international law and is a blow to the rule of law and human rights in the state and in India.”
The commission noted that the move was preceded by a communication blackout, arbitrary detention of political leaders, ban on movement and meetings of people, and increased military presence, apparently to stop protests.
“The Indian government has pushed through these changes in contravention of domestic and international standards with respect to the rights of people in Jammu and Kashmir to participate and be adequately represented, accompanied by draconian new restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and travel, and with an influx of thousands of unaccountable security personnel,” said Mr Zarifi.
“All eyes are now on the Indian Supreme Court to fulfil its functions in defence of the rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian constitution,” he said.
The statement said the “procedure adopted to revoke the special status and autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir appears to be incompatible with judgements and observations of high courts and the Indian Supreme Court, who have clarified that the president of India would need the agreement of the government of Jammu and Kashmir to change its status. The amendments effectively render Article 370 inoperative in its entirety, without meeting the constitutional requirements in spirit.
“The revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir without agreement from the state government is contrary to the spirit of Article 370, which envisioned that the will of the people would be taken into account in decisions relating to state’s special status and autonomy.”
The ICJ noted that the step was taken at a time when “Jammu and Kashmir was under the direct rule of the central government, and the state legislature was dissolved. As the government of Jammu and Kashmir is not empowered to discharge its functions, it has not been consulted, let alone agreed to the revocation”.
“The lack of consultation with the people of Kashmir is all the more troubling because the changes pushed by the Indian government will materially affect Kashmir’s status as India’s only Muslim-majority state, including special rights for citizens of the state to own and hold land and seek education and employment,” Mr Zarifi said.
