Pakistan Ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilullah has assured that Pakistan will reconsider its latest measures against India if the decision to revoke a special status of Jammu and Kashmir is reversed.
“We would be willing to review our decision in case India reverses its decision to annex Jammu and Kashmir. Now they have taken certain measures that amount to annexation,” Khalilullah said in an interview to Russian news agency Sputnik.
Noting that Islamabad was pursuing a diplomatic approach to the latest developments around Kashmir, the diplomat said, ‘Pakistan is a peace-loving country. We have a vision of a peaceful neighborhood. We want to resolve all outstanding disputes, including the Jammu and Kashmir with India peacefully through dialogue. Right now our focus is on diplomatic, political and legal options … We do not want to go towards a military option.”
On August 5, India revoked the controversial Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Terming Article 370 a ‘major hurdle’ in the development of the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said politics of vote bank has looted the youth of Jammu and Kashmir for over 70 years and is equally harmful for people of all religions.
He also said that only because of Article 370, democracy never took root in J&K, corruption flourished, widespread poverty took root and no socio-economic infrastructure could come up. “It is the root cause of terrorism.” he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has been continuously accusing India for resorting to unconstitutional measures in dealing with Kashmir. It has already snapped its diplomatic ties, bilateral trade with India, and referred the Kashmir issue to United Nations Security Council.
As part of the measures, Pakistan has also expelled India’s ambassador to the country and won’t send its own emissary, who had been preparing to go to New Delhi. (UNI)
