Indian SC rules in a unanimous verdict that the special status of held Kashmir was a temporary provision, abrogating Article 370 in the constitution
Directs the election commission to hold elections in held Kashmir by September 30, 2024
President Alvi strongly rejects Indian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the revocation of special status of IIOJ&K. FO Pakistan
Says judgment cannot distract the int’l community’s attention from the gross & systematic HR violations being perpetrated in IIOJK. FM Jalil Abbas
Pakistan categorically rejects judgment announced by Indian SC on the status of IIOJK
NEW DELHI + ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
India’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled in a unanimous verdict that the special status of held Kashmir was a temporary provision and upheld the order abrogating Article 370 in the constitution.
It also directed the election commission to hold elections in held Kashmir by September 30, 2024.
In August 2019, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status by repealing Article 370 of the constitution. The law had limited the power of the Indian parliament to impose laws in the state, apart from matters of defence, foreign affairs and communications.
The move allowed people from the rest of the country to have the right to acquire property in held Kashmir and settle there permanently.
Kashmiris, international organisations and critics of India’s Hindu nationalist-led government had termed the move an attempt to dilute the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud had begun hearing the set of petitions challenging the reading down of Article 370 of the Indian constitution on July 11 and reserved its verdict on September 5.
The move was challenged by the region’s pro-India political parties, the local Bar Association and individual litigants. The pleas, including those filed by the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, had also challenged India-held Kashmir’s bifurcation into two union territories.
On Monday, CJI read out the operative part of the verdict written by him for himself and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, Indian media reported. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna wrote separate but concurrent judgments.
CJI Chandrachud observed the petitioners’ contention that the centre could not take any decision during proclamation under Article 356 was not acceptable.
“Article 370 of the Constitution was an interim arrangement due to war conditions in state. Constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir was never intended to be permanent body,” CJI Chandrachud was quoted as saying.
The 2019 declaration was “a culmination of the process of integration and as such is a valid exercise of power”, the court said in its verdict.
The Indian apex court said occupied Kashmir did not retain the element of sovereignty after joining India. It further said it did not need to adjudicate on the validity of the presidential proclamation in the region as the petitioners had not challenged it.
According to the report, the ruling also termed petitioners’ arguments that the union government cannot take actions of irreversible consequences in the state during presidential rule as unacceptable.
Noting that Article 370 was a temporary provision, the SC said India-held Kashmir became an “integral part” of the country as reflected in Articles 1 and 370 of its constitution.
The CJI observed that Article 370 was meant for constitutional integration of the region with the union and not for disintegration, and that the President can declare that the said article ceases to exist.
The SC also upheld the reorganisation of Ladakh as a union territory.
The apex court also directed the country’s election commission to take steps to conduct elections for legislative assembly.
It ordered that India-held Kashmir be restored to the same statehood as any other Indian state — with no separate autonomy rights — “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.
Remarking that the people of occupied Kashmir “went through a lot and wounds need healing”, Justice Kaul directed that a truth and reconciliation commission be set up to probe human rights violations by state and non-state actors since the 1980s, the report said.
Reacting to the order, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the verdict a “beacon of hope” and said it “constitutionally upholds the decision taken by the Parliament of India on Aug 5, 2019”.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Karan Singh said a section of the people in occupied Kashmir “will not be happy with this judgment”.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch says Pakistan does not acknowledge the supremacy of the Indian Constitution over J&K
Pakistan has categorically rejected the judgment announced by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognized dispute, which remains on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades. The final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be made in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people. India has no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan, she said.
FO spokesperson said that 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.
She said that India cannot abdicate its international obligations on the pretext of domestic legislations and judicial verdicts. Its plans to annex IIOJK are bound to fail.
She said that the judicial endorsement of India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 is a travesty of justice, based on distorted historical and legal arguments.
The Indian Supreme Court’s verdict fails to recognize the internationally-recognized disputed nature of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. It further fails to cater to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, who have already rejected India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019. The judgement is yet another manifestation of the pliant judiciary under India’s ruling dispensation.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that restoration of statehood, conduct of State Assembly elections or similar steps cannot serve as a substitute to the grant of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people. The judgment cannot distract the international community’s attention from the gross and systematic human rights violations being perpetrated in IIOJK, she said.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that India’s unilateral and illegal measures since 5 August 2019 have been aimed at changing the demographic structure and political landscape of the IIOJK, in flagrant violation of international law and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, especially Resolution 122 (1957). 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, she said.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of IIOJK for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.
President Dr. Arif Alvi has strongly rejected the Indian Supreme Court’s (ISC) decision to uphold the revocation of the special status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). He expressed dismay over the decision, saying the Indian judiciary had succumbed to the fascist Hindutva ideology giving decisions suited to the Indian government. He added that such decisions could not legitimize the occupation of IIOJ&K by India as the Jammu and Kashmir issue was an internationally recognized dispute that remained on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades.
While condemning the decision, President Dr. Arif Alvi said that it was unfortunate that Indian courts had a history of giving decisions against Muslims as in the cases of Babri Masjid, Samjhuta Express, Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast and Naroda Gam massacre during the 2002 Gujrat riots etc. He added that the verdict of the ISC could not change the status of the IIOJ&K.
He said that the Judgment would further strengthen the resolve of the people of IIOJ&K in their just struggle against Indian illegal occupation. He urged the international community to make India fulfill the pledges made by her to the Kashmiri people in the past.
President Dr. Arif Alvi reiterated that the entire Pakistani nation was committed to continue its moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiri brethren till the achievement of their right to self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Jalil Abbas Jilani categorically rejects the judgment announced by Supreme Court of India on the status of IIOJK
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has categorically rejected the judgment announced by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, Jalil Abbas Jilani said the judicial endorsement of India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 is a travesty of justice, based on distorted historical and legal arguments.
He said India cannot abdicate its international obligations on the pretext of domestic legislations and judicial verdicts. Its plans to annex IIOJK are bound to fail.
The Foreign Minister said the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict fails to recognize the internationally-recognized disputed nature of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. It further fails to cater to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, who have already rejected India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019. The judgment is yet another manifestation of the pliant judiciary under India’s ruling dispensation.
Jalil Abbas Jilani said the restoration of statehood, conduct of State Assembly elections or similar steps cannot serve as a substitute to the grant of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people.
He said the judgment cannot distract the international community’s attention from the gross and systematic human rights violations being perpetrated in IIOJK.
The Foreign Minister said India’s unilateral and illegal measures since 5 August 2019 have been aimed at changing the demographic structure and political landscape of the IIOJK, in flagrant violation of international law and the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, especially Resolution 122 of 1957. 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 Pakistan will continue to extend its full political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of IIOJK for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination.
The Foreign Minister said Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognized dispute, which remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council for over seven decades.
He said the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be made in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people. India has no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
The Minister 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.
Maintaining that the issue of occupied Kashmir has been on the UN’s agenda for decades, he reiterated the government’s demand that all UN resolutions on the disputed region should be followed to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Elaborating further, he said Islamabad will consider all options following the Indian SC’s decision, and added that the country’s apex court had also passed a biased verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case. “Today’s decision is also of the same nature.”
Jalil Abbas Jillani said since the abrogation of Article 370, those living in occupied Kashmir have suffered under numerous restrictions, and serious violations of human rights by New Delhi’s forces continue in IIOJK. He reminded that India had also denied permission to independent observers from the OIC to visit the disputed region.
The interim foreign minister further said that Pakistan would write to the UN secretary general, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary general and the European Union parliament to “apprise them of the futility” of today’s verdict. “We will find out the illegalities and contradictions that are present in this decision,” he said.
Meanwhile in a statement issued on twitter on Monday, Jalil Abbas Jilani said that the international law doesn’t recognize India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019. He said that the judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. He said that Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self determination in accordance with the relevant UN SC resolutions.
Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani rejects decision by Indian Supreme Court regarding the abrogation of Article 370
Voices serious concerns, describing the Indian SC’s ruling as a ‘mockery of justice’
Chairman Senate of Pakistan, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, has rejected the decision by the Indian Supreme Court regarding the abrogation of Article 370, diminishing the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an official statement, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani voiced serious concerns, describing the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling as a “mockery of justice” that runs contrary to established norms of morality and lacks historical evidence. He raised questions about the impartiality of the court, suggesting it may have been compromised by Hindutva ideology, referring to the influence of what he termed “Hindutva Goons.”
Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani underscored that Kashmiris do not recognize the Indian constitution, asserting its non-applicability to the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, recognized internationally as a disputed territory. He reiterated the steadfast rejection by the Kashmiri people of any unilateral actions taken by India in the region, reaffirming Pakistan’s unwavering support for their quest for freedom from Indian occupation.
Calling for international attention, Chairman Senate urged the global community to consider the implications of the Indian Supreme Court’s decision. He emphasized the need for a resolution to the Kashmir issue in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to a diplomatic and internationally sanctioned resolution to the longstanding dispute.