Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Washington DC, August 13: Indian ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, has on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP party – central government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and reorganize Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter as it doesn’t breach any international Line of Control (LoC) or border.

During an exclusive interview with Fox News, Shringla stated: “It is important to distinguish between truth and distortion and what you have heard is a great deal of the latter.”

He further added, “India has reorganized the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories with legislative assembly and council. It does not in any way impinge the border of Jammu and Kashmir and international line of control and is, therefore, an internal matter of the country.”

The Indian envoy stated New Delhi has pursued the decision to scrap Article 370 as it was “hankering” with the state’s development and growth, according to ANI news reports.

He said, “We have taken this decision because we have found that over 70 years the development in the state has been hankered by the so-called special status that the state enjoyed.”

Shringla added it was a temporary provision under the Indian constitution and now its intention is to ensure the good socio-economic justice and governance reaches the state.

When asked about the pertaining restrictions in the state, he said all these measures were preventive and temporary in nature “we know the possibilities of the cross border of infiltration and terrorism and we know there would be incitement of violence” and thus “we have taken preventive steps”.

Talking about offer proposed by US President Donald Trump to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir issue, Shringla stated India has dismissed the US offer as the dispute was a bilateral matter and Islamabad and New Delhi must pursue steps to resolve it jointly.

 

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