Pakistan plans to take Kashmir dispute with India to ICJ

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the case would centre on alleged human rights violations by India in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but rule in part.

People carry signs as they chant slogans to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, August 20, 2019.
Reuters

People carry signs as they chant slogans to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir, during a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, August 20, 2019.

Pakistan said on Tuesday it would take its dispute with India over Kashmir to the International Court of Justice, after New Delhi revoked the special status of its part of the region earlier this month .

Islamabad reacted with fury to that decision, cutting trade and transport links and expelling India's ambassador.

"We have decided to take the Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice," Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told ARY News TV on Tuesday. 

"The decision was taken after considering all legal aspects," the Pakistani minister said.

The case would centre on alleged human rights violations by India in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but rule in part, Qureshi said.

A spokesman for India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India denies committing human rights violations in Kashmir.

Tensions have skyrocketed after New Delhi scrapped Article 370 in the Indian constitution that had granted Kashmir special autonomy.

In changing the status of Kashmir, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government also restricted freedom of movement in the region and cut the internet and phone lines.

Both India and Pakistan have controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir since independence in 1947. The dispute over the Muslim-majority region has been the spark for two major wars and countless clashes between them.

TRT World spoke to Islamabad-based Kamran Yousaf for more on the story.

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Trump's reiterates mediation offer

US President Donald Trump again offered to mediate the "explosive" situation in Kashmir, long a flashpoint between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

Trump said he would raise the matter over the weekend with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who the US has urged to act to ease tensions in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have Hindus and you have the Muslims and I wouldn't say they get along so great," Trump told reporters.

"I will do the best I can to mediate," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the State Department called on India to quickly release detainees and restore basic liberties in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"We continue to be very concerned by reports of detentions, and continued restrictions on the residents of the region," a senior State Department official told reporters.

"We urge respect for individual rights, compliance with legal procedures and an inclusive dialogue," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity after returning from a visit to the region.

Border clashes leave several dead

Moreover, border clashes between the two countries still continue. 

Pakistan said that three Pakistani civilians died in Indian gunfire from across the de facto border in Kashmir.

"Indian fire had martyred three civilians including a seven-year old boy in Tatta Pani sector along the Line of Control," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted Tuesday.

In retaliation, it said the Pakistani army forces later killed six Indian soldiers, the claim Indian army rejected as "totally fake," the Press Trust of India said.

"Pakistan army targeted Indian posts, killing six Indian soldiers including an officer and wounding many others," he added.

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