The United States on Monday said it is closely following the unfolding developments in Kashmir after India’s decision to revoke special status for Kashmir and expressed concern over detentions while also urging all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control.
Washington’s comments come as tensions have soared between Pakistan and India in the wake of New Delhi’s revocation of special constitutional status of Kashmir, a UN-accepted disputed territory.
“We are closely following the events in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. We take note of India’s announcement revising the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and India’s plan to split the state into two union territories,” State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.
“We note that the Indian government has described these actions as strictly an internal matter,” the spokesperson added after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist BJP Government defended the move to overturn decades of special status for Kashmiri territory under its control.
Pakistan also controls part of Kashmir, which is a deeply sensitive issue for the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan, who held talks with President Donald Trump at the White House last month, has asked the U.S. leader to intervene.
New Delhi has also beefed up its military deployments in Kashmir and detained several high-profile Kashmiri leaders amid fears of unrest since Kashmiris see the Indian move as a ploy to change the demographics of the disputed territory where Indians can come now and settle like other proper parts of the country.
Commenting on detentions, the spokesperson said:
“We are concerned about reports of detentions and urge respect for individual rights and discussion with those in affected communities.”
“We call on all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control,” the spokesperson added amid escalating tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India.
The U.S. has close ties with both Pakistan and India. Pakistan is currently helping the U.S. to conclude the longest American war in Afghanistan through a peace agreement while India is seen as a natural partner in Washington as a counterweight to rising China.
President Donald Trump has offered to mediate on Kashmir. Pakistan has welcomed the offer but India has refused to accept any third party intervention on the longstanding dispute.
Over the weekend, as India escalated its military presence in Kashmir and clamped a curfew-like gag on the Kashmiris, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan asked Trump to make good on his offer.
Meanwhile, Kashmiris fear a ew era of persecution after the Indian decision to annual the special status for the contested territory, which both Pakistan and India claim.
South Asian experts and Kashmiri people see Indian decision to deprive them of constitutional protections as a way to alter the demographic complexion of the valley.
In Islamabad, Pakistan summoned Indian High Commissioner to protest the move.
