NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2019) Pakistan has started shifting its military equipment to the Indian border close to Ladakh amid ongoing tensions with India over the developments in the disputed Kashmir region following the revocation of Article 370, the Indian news agency ANI reported on Monday.
On August 5, the Indian government stripped is state of Jammu and Kashmir, which lies in the disputed region, of its special status, which was guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian constitution. It then decided to split the state into two union territories that would be under Federal control � Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. This division is envisaged by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which will come into effect on October 31.
"Three C-130 transport aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force were used on Saturday to ferry equipment to their Skardu air base opposite the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Indian agencies concerned are keeping a close eye on the movement of Pakistanis along the border areas," government sources told ANI.
The delivered weapons can subsequently be used by the army of a neighboring country to support airstrikes, similar to those that were carried out in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, when more than 40 people were killed, according to the government. The next step by Islamabad, sources say, will be to relocate the Chengdu FC-1 Xiaolong combat aircraft to the Skardu air base.
Neighboring Pakistan, which has traditionally supported the Muslim population of India living in Kashmir, has strongly opposed this move. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered that a special committee be established to work out a legal, political and diplomatic response to the decision of India on the state of Jammu and Kashmir. What resulted was Islamabad announcing on Wednesday a downgrade in diplomatic relations with India, the suspension of bilateral trade and the revision of a number of agreements.
