International

Pakistan mulls to take Kashmir dispute with India to int’l court

Reuters . Islamabad
Kashmiri women walk past concertina wire laid across a road during restrictions after the scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters
Kashmiri women walk past concertina wire laid across a road during restrictions after the scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters

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.

Kashmiri men sit in front of the closed shops painted with graffiti during restrictions after scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters
Kashmiri men sit in front of the closed shops painted with graffiti during restrictions after scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters

"We have decided to take the Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice," Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told ARY News TV on Tuesday. "The decision was taken after considering all legal aspects."

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.

Indian security force personnel stand guard on a deserted road during restrictions after scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters
Indian security force personnel stand guard on a deserted road during restrictions after scrapping of the special constitutional status for Kashmir by the Indian government, in Srinagar, on 20 August 2019. Photo: Reuters

A decision by the court would advisory only. However, if both countries agreed before-hand, the ruling would become binding.

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

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