ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday categorically said that any attempt to bring about demographic changes in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) was a blatant violation of international law and the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
“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,” the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.
The FO spokesperson said that any move in that direction would be a blatant violation of international law and the relevant UNSC resolutions, which prohibited introducing material changes to the disputed territory.
He said that the evolving situation in IOK was equally a matter of grave concern. Following reprisal attacks against the Kashmiris in IOK and many parts of India after the Pulwama attack, there had been further heavy-handed steps including enhanced use of force, large-scale arrests, and incarceration of senior Kashmiri leaders, he added.
He said that the large-scale deployment of additional paramilitary forces, and orders by the local administration to hospitals and about the sale of fuel and food grains, were contributing to an atmosphere of extreme intimidation and fear.
“Immediate steps are required to reverse this frenzy and restore calm,” the spokesperson added.
He said that 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.
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