Pakistan issued a warning on Saturday, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-stakes meeting with political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on June 24, saying it will oppose any move by India to “divide” or change the demography of Kashmir. Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said in an official statement that India must refrain from taking any “further illegal steps” in Kashmir following its actions on August 5, 2019.
Pakistan’s statement came on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited 14 political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir to a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, which is expected to lay out a plan for holding assembly elections in the Union territory.
Pakistan is determined to oppose the Indian government’s political ambitions in Jammu and Kashmir, despite a long history of rivalry with India. Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, stated that his country “strongly opposes” India’s actions on August 5, 2019, and that he has spoken about it at several international conventions, including the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He stated that true peace in South Asia can only be achieved peacefully if the Kashmir issue is resolved in accordance with relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Pakistan has even informed the UN Secretary-General and the President of the United Nations Security Council about India’s potential moves in Kashmir, according to Shah Mahmood Qureshi, adding that the country will not tolerate any potential move by India to divide and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir and change the demographic structure of the Union territory.
It should be noted that since the Narendra Modi-led government abolished Section 370 of the Constitution, ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, was also passed by India’s parliament, dividing the former state into two Union territories.
India, on the other hand, has always maintained that repealing Section 370 is a domestic matter with which Pakistan should not interfere. India has emphasised in international forums that it is capable of dealing with the Kashmir dispute on its own, and has pressed Pakistan to do the same, stating that decent relations with the neighbouring country will only be achieved if Islamabad takes stringent steps to combat the growing threat of terrorism.
