(UTV|COLOMBO) – Pakistan has announced it will downgrade diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India after New Delhi stripped the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.
India’s High Commissioner will also be removed from the country, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Wednesday. It added that Islamabad will not send its own ambassador to New Delhi.
The series of announcements came after a National Security Committee meeting on Wednesday, where the office of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Islamabad would also review bilateral agreements with India and take the issue up with the United Nations and the UN Security Council.
On Tuesday, India’s parliament voted to reclassify the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory, giving the government in New Delhi greater authority over the contested Muslim-majority region. The day before, the Indian government announced it was revoking Article 370, a constitutional provision which had granted special status and powers to the state.
The vote was met with outcry from Pakistan, which also claims Kashmir. On Wednesday, Khan’s office repeated its claim that India’s moves were illegal, and urged the Pakistani military, which has warned it will “go to any extent” to fight the changes, to remain vigilant.
The statement added that Pakistan’s independence day on August 14 would be dedicated to “brave Kashmiris and their struggle for their right of self-determination.”
India’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Pakistan’s announcement.
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