New Delhi:
Pakistan has said that it will not accept the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir as the country claimed it would be a violation of the UN resolutions. Addressing media in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal said, “The abrogation of Article 370 of Indian constitution is violation of UN resolutions. We will not accept it under any circumstances and the Kashmiris will also not accept it.”
The Article 370 is a special provision with regards to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and restricts the applicability of various provisions of the Constitution by "curtailing" the power of Parliament to make laws on subjects which fall under the Union and Concurrent lists.
The ruling Narendra Modi-led BJP government, which made a bunch of promises on Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, has once again raised the issue of Article 370 in wake of looming Lok Sabha elections.
Senior BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, have repeatedly said that the saffron party was committed to repeal Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Shah has reportedly cited lack of a majority in Rajya Sabha as the reason why the incumbent Modi government failed to fulfill its promise.
The comments of the BJP leader to abolish Article 370 were strongly criticised within the country, including former ally and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. In her interview to a private news channel, Mufti had said that if Article 370 is removed from Kashmir, India will become an “occupational force” in the state.
National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah also slammed the remarks, saying that Kashmir became a part of India on certain conditions and Article 370 was one of them to safeguard the state’s identity.
“It included Article 370 and Article 35A. Unfortunately, some of our leaders made Article 370 hollow for their personal gains,” he said. His father and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah had said that the relationship between New Delhi and the state will be over if Article 370 is repealed.
