Congress warns of implications for Indian national security as BJP scraps Article 370

On the other hand, fresh demonstrations are being held in Pakistan on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI (Dunya News) – Indian National Congress, the main opposition party in the parliament of India, has warned that Modi-led government’s decision to scrap special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution will unfold grave implications for the national security of India.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took to Twitter, and stated: “National integration is not furthered by unilaterally tearing apart Jammu and Kashmir, imprisoning elected representatives and violating the Constitution.”

“This nation is made by its people, not plots of land. This abuse of executive power has grave implications for our national security.”

In another tweet, Gandhi said: “Kashmir’s mainstream political leaders have been jailed at secret locations. This is unconstitutional and undemocratic. It’s also short sighted and foolish because it will allow terrorists to fill the leadership vaccum created by GOI. The imprisoned leaders must be released.”

National integration isn’t furthered by unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution. This nation is made by its people, not plots of land. This abuse of executive power has grave implications for our national security.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2019

Kashmir’s mainstream political leaders have been jailed at secret locations. This is unconstitutional & undemocratic. It’s also short sighted and foolish because it will allow terrorists to fill the leadership vaccum created by GOI. The imprisoned leaders must be released.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2019

Meanwhile, during a debate on Indian government’s abrupt decision on Jammu and Kashmir in Lok Shaba today, a Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sought clarification on how the United Nations is monitoring Kashmir since 1948 if the region is an internal issue of India.

Chowdhury has questioned why India signed the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, was that an internal matter or bilateral?

He said the government had thrown rules and regulations out of the window by proposing to create two union territories out of Jammu and Kashmir.

On the other hand, Pakistan was braced for protests on Tuesday, a day after India stripped the disputed Kashmir region of its special autonomy in a blatant move that Islamabad has branded as illegal.

Demonstrations were set to kick off in the early afternoon with protests planned in Muzaffarabad, the largest city in Azad Kashmir, alongside rallies in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad.

Pakistani lawmakers have also begun a joint-session of parliament to discuss a possible response to Delhi’s move, while a separate meeting by Pakistan’s top military commanders was held in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. 

The move is set to exacerbate the already bloody rebellion in Kashmir and deepen the long-running animosity with nuclear rival Pakistan, which has fought two out of three wars with India over the territory.

Ahead of the announcements, tens of thousands of extra Indian troops were deployed in the territory, and a security lockdown was imposed overnight Sunday with all telecommunications there cut.