Pakistan on Monday said India's Supreme Court verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 has “no legal value”, asserting that the international law does not recognise New Delhi's “unilateral and illegal actions” of August 5, 2019.
The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the Centre government's decision of August 2019 to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“International law doesn't recognise India's unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019. The judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN SC resolutions,” caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Jilani said India has “no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory” against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the judgement announced by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He said that the judicial endorsement of India's “unilateral and illegal actions” was “a travesty of justice”.
He said that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised dispute, which remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades.
“The final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be made in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” he said.
“Pakistan does not acknowledge the supremacy of the Indian Constitution over Jammu and Kashmir. Any process, subservient to the Indian Constitution, carries no legal significance. India cannot abdicate its international obligations on the pretext of domestic legislations and judicial verdicts,” he said.
Relations between India and Pakistan have often been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. However, their ties nose-dived after India abrogated Article 370 as Pakistan expelled the Indian envoy and downgraded the trade ties.
India has time and again said that Kashmir is an internal matter, and added it desires normal, friendly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, violence and hostility.
Gilani alleged that India's “unilateral and illegal measures” since 5 August 2019 have been aimed at changing the demographic structure and political landscape of Kashmir.
“They remain a matter of grave concern for Pakistan as their ultimate goal is to convert the Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land. These measures must be rescinded to create an environment for peace and dialogue,” he said.
The minister said Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir for the realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination.
“We will soon call a meeting of all stakeholders and determine our future course of action,” he said.
To a question, he said that Pakistan would like to maintain peace on the LoC after this decision.
When asked about the threat of increase in militancy in Kashmir, he said Kashmiris never accepted Indian rule. “Ultimately their reaction would be like that of the people of Gaza,” he said.
He said there was no change on the issue of not holding talks with India. “No dialogue is going on with India and no such thing is hidden from my eyes,” he said.
He said Pakistan's stance is very strong for any international court but India always takes refuge in the procedures and rejects international jurisdiction of courts.
Earlier, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shehbaz Sharif criticised the apex court's verdict, calling it a “biased decision.”
“The Indian Supreme Court has violated the international laws by giving a decision against the resolutions of the United Nations. The Indian Supreme Court has betrayed the sacrifice of millions of Kashmiris,” said Sharif, who served as the prime minister from April 2022 to August 2023.
With this “biased decision”, Kashmir's “freedom movement” will become stronger, he said, adding that there will be “no abatement in the Kashmiri struggle.”
Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, PML-N will raise the voice of the right of Kashmiris at all levels, he added.
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that once again it has been proved that India does not follow international laws and UN resolutions.
“Indian parliament and courts cannot rewrite international agreements,” he said.
“Our last hope was that the Supreme Court would hear this. There was a debate on this in the Supreme Court for three to four months. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are not happy with the decision taken by an absolute majority. Even today, I think that Article 370 and 35A were historic things for our region and were connected to our sentiments. Article 35A, which was created by Maharaj Hari Singh, was included when our Constitution was made. But this too has been abolished. This will harm our economy. Land will become expensive, and people from all over India will come to Jammu and Kashmir. Our biggest industry is tourism and government jobs, but now people from all over the country can apply for them. This will increase unemployment for our children. When Article 370 was implemented, all these things were kept in mind," Azad said.
The Vice President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Omar Abdullah expressed his "disappointment' over apex court's decision and said that the struggle will continue. "Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue. It took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul. #WeShallOvercome #Article370," Abdullah said on X.
On the Supreme Court's verdict, senior Congress leader and Maharaja Hari Singh's son Karan Singh says, "A section of people in J&K who will not be happy with this judgement, my sincere advice is that they should accept the inevitable and they should accept the fact that now this has been done and the Supreme Court has upheld the action, and therefore there's no point now unnecessarily hitting their head against the wall. Now my suggestion is that they should turn their energies towards fighting the next elections. That is where the people should now be motivated instead of developing any negativity."
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray said, "We welcome this decision because we supported the removal of Article 370. We hope the J&K elections will be held at the earliest. Before elections, if PoK is included, then this exercise can be held in the entire Kashmir..."
Reacting to the verdict of the top court, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said," The Centre should conduct elections in J&K as soon as possible and also restore full statehood."
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi also expressed his "disappointment" from SC's decision.
Four years after Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status, the Supreme Court on Monday said the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 was constitutionally valid even as sought restoration of statehood for the Union Territory at the earliest. The apex court held that Article 370 was a temporary provision because of war-like conditions in the state.
The apex court announced its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370. In 2019, the Central government revoked the said article, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The arguments had commenced on August 2. The apex court had on September 5 reserved its verdict in the matter after a 16-day hearing.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud delivered the verdict today. Other bench members were Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, and Surya Kant, reported PTI.
Several petitions were filed challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 that divided the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The pleas were later referred to a Constitution bench in 2019.
Ahead of the verdict, the BJP underlined the need to respect the ruling of the top court on Article 370, urging against politicising the matter. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah affirmed a commitment to maintaining peace in Jammu and Kashmir, even in the face of an adverse verdict, vowing to pursue their cause within legal boundaries.
The people of J&K are not going to lose hope or give up. Our fight for honour and dignity will continue regardless. This isn’t the end of the road for us. pic.twitter.com/liRgzK7AT7
“Today an unconstitutional and illegal act that took place in the Parliament was declared legal. It is nothing less than a death sentence not only for Jammu and Kashmir but for the idea of India,” Mufti said in a five-minute video message she posted on X.
“The SC has said that the Article 370 is temporary, which is why it was removed. This is not only our defeat but also the defeat of the idea of India. This is the defeat of the imagination of India, the Gandhian India with which Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, rejecting Pakistan, joined hands with the Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians, the country of Gandhi. Today marks the defeat of that idea of India,” she added.
The former chief minister urged the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh not to be disheartened or lose hope over the apex court’s decision.
“Don’t lose heart, don’t lose hope. Jammu and Kashmir has seen a lot of ups and downs. The SC verdict today is a halt; it is not our destination. Don’t make the mistake of considering it as the end. Our opponents want us to lose hope and accept defeat. But that should not be the case,” she said.
The PDP president said the struggle in Jammu and Kashmir was a political fight which has been going on for decades.
“No decision is final, not even the SC’s decision. This is a political fight which has been going on for many decades. Our people have made sacrifices and we will not quit halfway,” she said.
Mufti said the SC declaring the Article 370 as a temporary provision of the constitution has strengthened the forces who claim that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India is temporary.
“In 1947, there was a government, a Parliament and a constitution was made. Promises were made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and a special status was granted. After 77 years, another party came which harped on removing Article 370 when they came to power and they did it. It is not our defeat but the defeat of the country. They have betrayed us, we did not.”
“Today, they have weakened the country by declaring Article 370 as temporary. They have strengthened those forces in Jammu and Kashmir who have been claiming that the accession with India is temporary. The hand which had joined you with hopes, you have injured that hand today. So do not lose hope, this time shall also pass,” Mufti said.
The PDP chief urged people in other parts of the country not to celebrate the abrogation of Article 370 as she warned that the ruling party at the Centre will not stop at it.
“...What has started in Jammu and Kashmir will spread to other parts of the country. They will not waste much time in snatching from you the Constitution and the tricolour under which we fought for and won our freedom
