Pakistan, China reiterate opposition to India's Jammu and Kashmir move

Pakistan on Wednesday observed the anniversary of India’s August 5, 2019 move on Jammu and Kashmir as “Youm-e-Istehsal” or the “day of exploitation”, even as its “iron-brother” China reiterated that the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi on the “disputed territory” was “illegal” and “invalid”.

A year after the Modi Government decided to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and to reorganize the state into two Union Territories, Pakistan and China continued to oppose the move made by India.

“It (the move by New Delhi) is a crime against humanity that has destroyed lives, crippled livelihoods, and imperilled the very identity of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, said. “Let me be absolutely clear: Pakistan will always be with its brothers and sisters in IIOJK.”

He also said that Pakistan, as well as the people of Kashmir, would never accept the illegal actions and oppressive measures by India.

Khan on Tuesday issued a new political map of Pakistan incorporating in Pakistan, not only India’s two Union Territories – Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir – but also Junagadh in its western state of Gujarat.

A one-minute silence was observed across Pakistan on Wednesday as a mark of protest against India’s August 5, 2019 move on J&K.

Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi led a rally in the capital of the country to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

The Chinese Government too expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir.

“China is highly concerned about the situation in Kashmir,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Government, said. “Our position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear: First, the issue of Kashmir is a historical dispute between Pakistan and India, which should be settled in accordance with the United Nations Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India”.

He said that any unilateral change of the status quo in the Kashmir region was “illegal and invalid”. The dispute should be properly resolved by India and Pakistan through dialogue and consultation in a peaceful manner, added Wang.

Beijing joined Islamabad in opposing the Modi Government’s move on J&K, not only out of solidarity with its “iron brother”, but also due to its own concern over the implication of New Delhi’s decision on the China-India territorial row in the western sector of the disputed boundary.

New Delhi has been steadfastly resisting moves by Pakistan and China to bring the issue of J&K back to the UN Security Council’s agenda. It has been maintaining that the 1972 Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan and the 1999 Lahore Declaration by the two sides had left no scope for the UN or any third party to play any role in resolving the “outstanding issues” between the two South Asian neighbours.