Islamabad, August 21 (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.
“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.
A spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India denies committing human rights violations in Kashmir.
A senior US State Department official said it was up to Pakistan to decide whether it wanted to take the matter to the court, but added: “Our view is that a resolution in Kashmir is not aided by multilateralising it. The answer is direct conversation between India and Pakistan.”
(The featured image at the top shows the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shan Mahmod Qureshi)
