Verdict on Article 370 would ‘further complicate’ Kashmir issue: Imran Khan

Islamabad: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has said that India’s Supreme Court verdict upholding the abrogation of Article 370 would “further complicate” the Kashmir issue.

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the Centre government’s decision of August 2019 to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Khan, who has been incarcerated in the Adiala jail of Rawalpindi, in a message said that the Indian top court’s ruling was a sheer violation of the UNSC resolutions, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said in a post on X.

Khan “made it clear that the controversial and unlawful decision of the Indian top court would further complicate the Kashmir issue instead of helping to solve the decades-long conflict,” it added.

He vowed that his party would continue to provide full diplomatic, moral and political support to the Kashmiri people.

Khan, addressed by his party as “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman-for-life”, recalled that the Kashmir issue was the main bone of contention between Pakistan and India.

He emphasised that the then PTI government led by him had strongly reacted when India tried to alter the special status of Kashmir in 2019, referring to the downgrading of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Khan added that he wanted to establish good ties with India while putting national interests first. However, after August 5, 2019, it was not possible because “we did not want to compromise on the aspirations” of the Kashmiri people, he said.