Pakistan to Downgrade Diplomatic Contacts, Suspend Trade With India Over Kashmir Tensions
Pakistan's National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, decided on Wednesday to downgrade diplomatic relations with India and suspend bilateral trade following New Delhi's move to revoke the special status of its Jammu and Kashmir state
Earlier in the week, New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the constitution, which had guaranteed Jammu and Kashmir a degree of autonomy for decades.
"The committee discussed situation arising out of unilateral & illegal actions by Indian govt, situation inside Indian Occupied J&K and along LOC," the Pakistani government said in a statement in its official Twitter blog.
According to the statement, the committee decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with India, to suspend bilateral trade, to review bilateral arrangements, and to take the matter to the United Nations, including the Security Council.
Article 370 of the Indian constitution protected the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, requiring the mandatory approval of most of the laws adopted by the Indian parliament in the local assembly. The Indian government now wants to split the Ladakh region from Jammu and Kashmir and grant it the status of a union territory, which means it would be directly controlled by the Federal government. The remainder of the state will become a second union territory. However, the Ladakh region will not have its own legislature, unlike Jammu and Kashmir.