PM Imran, UK counterpart Boris Johnson discuss 'serious situation in Kashmir'

Published August 7, 2019
Prime Minister Imran Khan, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. — Reuters/Imran Khan Facebook
Prime Minister Imran Khan, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. — Reuters/Imran Khan Facebook

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday made a telephone call to his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, during which a discussion on the "serious situation in Kashmir" was held, Johnson's Downing Street office said in a statement.

Both leaders agreed on the "importance of maintaining dialogue", the statement added.

The prime minister congratulated PM Johnson on assuming office as the UK prime minister. Both leaders underscored their "continued commitment to the bilateral relationship between the UK and Pakistan".

In a parallel development, Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he had expressed concern to his Indian counterpart about the situation in the disputed Kashmir region.

“I have to spoken to the Indian Foreign Minister,” Raab said on Wednesday.

“We've expressed some of our concerns around the situation and called for calm, but also had a clear readout of the situation from the perspective of the Indian government.”

Examine: India's legislative actions in Jammu and Kashmir — legal or illegal?

After India decided to revoke Kashmir's special status by repealing Article 370 and 35-A of its constitution through a presidential order, Pakistan said it would downgrade diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India.

With the revocation of Article 370 of the constitution, Indian residents will now be able to acquire property in Kashmir and settle there permanently.

Kashmiris, as well as critics of India’s Hindu nationalist-led government, see the move as an attempt to bring a demographic change to Kashmir, diluting its Muslim-majority population with Hindu settlers.

Furthermore, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who is also president of the BJP, moved a bill — passed by the Indian parliament — to bifurcate the state into two union territories to be directly ruled by New Delhi.

Opinion

Editorial

Never again
Updated 17 Jan, 2025

Never again

The Gaza genocide has also revealed the utter helplessness of the Palestinian Authority in projecting Palestine’s case globally.
World Bank loan
17 Jan, 2025

World Bank loan

THAT the World Bank will give $20bn to Pakistan in the next 10 years to address some of the country’s most acute...
India’s dangerous game
17 Jan, 2025

India’s dangerous game

THE latest inflammatory remarks by India’s military brass about Pakistan mark a troubling departure from the...
Peshawar meeting
Updated 16 Jan, 2025

Peshawar meeting

Dealing with Afghan Taliban is necessary not just for internal stability, but to ensure that Afghanistan not isolated regionally.
Cyber circus
16 Jan, 2025

Cyber circus

PAKISTAN’S cybercrime-fighting apparatus is proving rather good at harassing journalists and remarkably poor at...
Anti-abuse action
16 Jan, 2025

Anti-abuse action

IN what is a social minefield for women, the Punjab police investigation department’s decision to deploy 1,450...