Imran Khan has vowed to step up diplomatic efforts after India repealed Article 370 stripping Jammu and Kashmir of special status and dividing the state into two federally administered territories.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s telecast to the nation on Thursday 8 August, Khan tweeted that the “whole world is waiting to see what happens to oppressed Kashmiris...”.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf stated: “establishing Hindu settlements is a nefarious act to change the fabric of Kashmir from a Muslim majority to a Hindu majority.”
Kashmir has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan since the countries gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. Both states govern part of the region but have claims to it in its entirety. The rivals have also fought two wars over Kashmir.
Islamabad and New Delhi have held several rounds of summit-level talks on Kashmir, but a resolution has failed to emerge each time.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee held two days of parleys in Agra in northern Uttar Pradesh, and according to reports, a “solution to Kashmir was in the grasp of both governments”. President Musharraf had proposed what was called the “Four-point solution” to Kashmir, which according to different accounts was even acceptable to Vajpayee, but a final deal slipped away.