ISLAMABAD: The Army top brass on Tuesday denounced Indian move to annex occupied Kashmir by ending its autonomous status and reaffirmed the support for the Kashmir cause.

“Forum fully supported Government’s rejection of Indian actions regarding Kashmir,” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s public affairs wing, said after a meeting of the corps commanders, which had been convened to discuss the developments related to held Kashmir.

India had a day earlier scrapped the autonomous status of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir by annulling Article 370 of the Constitution through a presidential order. Moreover, the disputed region was bifurcated into two territorial units of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir through legislation.

Pakistan had rejected the Indian move, saying it “violated international law and several United Nations Security Council resolutions”. Furthermore, Islamabad believes that Indian actions are aimed at consolidating illegal occupation of Kashmir. The Foreign Office had stated that Pakistan government would exercise all options to counter India’s illegal actions.

Army is prepared and ‘shall go to any extent’ to fulfil its obligations to Kashmir cause, says Gen Bajwa

Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing a joint sitting of the parliament, emphasised that Indian actions were violation of their own domestic laws and international laws. Mr Khan had in his telephonic conversations with Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Monday over the developments warned that the developments would undermine regional peace and security.

The corps commanders, while rejecting the Indian actions, clarified that Pakistan had never supported the Kashmir-specific legislations, Articles 35-A and 370, which had now been revoked by India. The commanders appeared to suggest that Kashmir was under occupation when Articles 35-A and 370 were in place and it remained under foreign control even now. And that status quo over the status of Kashmir must be maintained till the dispute is resolved.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, who chaired the meeting, reiterated support for the Kashmir cause, saying, “Pakistan Army firmly stands by the Kashmiris in their just struggle to the very end. We are prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil our obligations in this regard”.

The message was aimed at Kashmiris braving Indian repression for decades. It is feared that their plight could worsen in the near future as India has deployed thousands of more troops in the already most heavily militarised zone in the world. Civilians living along the Line of Control and Working Boundary too have been suffering from Indian highhandedness as its forces have increasingly targeted them. India has over the past few years, besides a spike in intensity of ceasefire breaches, also resorted to calibre escalation and air space violations along the LoC. More recently it used cluster bombs on civilian population in the Neelum Valley.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2019