Pakistan condemns India's attempts to repeal Article 35-A: FO spox

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Sunday termed India's expected move to deliberate "shortly" and scrap its Constitution's Article 35-A to be a "blatant violation of international law" and the UN Security Council's resolutions.

In a statement issued Sunday, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said: "We understand that the Supreme Court of India is due to deliberate, shortly, on the petitions calling for [the] scrapping of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution.

"Pakistan condemns any such attempts as these are clearly aimed at bringing about demographic changes in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir," he added.

According to Dr Faisal, a potential decision in favour of scrapping Article 35-A "would be a blatant violation of international law and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit introducing material changes to the disputed territory.

"The evolving situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir is equally a matter of grave concern," he further noted, adding that consequent to the tragic Pulwama attack, "there have been further heavy-handed steps including enhanced use of force, large-scale arrests, and incarceration of senior Kashmiri leaders".

Such developments, the FO spokesperson added, were "contributing to an atmosphere of extreme intimidation and fear" and, thus, "immediate steps are required to reverse this frenzy and restore calm".

Dr Faisal also called for the global fraternity to take notice of the post-Pulwama events in Occupied Kashmir.

"The international community should take cognizance of the situation and counsel India to refrain from further escalation, defuse current tensions and resolve issues through dialogue and engagement," he said.