Pakistan Downgrades Diplomatic Ties, Severs Trade Ties with India Over Kashmir Row

Islamabad, August 7, 2019:

After the scrapping of Article 370, Pakistan has decided to downgrade diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad after the resolution to revoke Article 370 was passed by Parliament.

The following decisions were taken in the meeting: downgrading of diplomatic relations with India; suspension of bilateral trade with India; and the review of bilateral arrangements.

Earlier, PM Khan had formed a seven-member committee to make recommendations to formulate Islamabad's legal, political, and diplomatic response in connection with the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

It may be recalled that on Monday, the Indian Government had scrapped Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and barred people from the rest of the country from buying property there.

The Centre also converted Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory with a legislature, while hiving off Ladakh as a separate Union Territory without legislature.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 and adoption of the resolution to repeal Article 370.

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