Article 370 is India's internal matter, stop terror to start talks: India after UNSC meeting
New York: India on Friday said there was an effort to masquerade national statements by two countries [read Pakistan and China] as the will of international community in respect to the removal of Article 370 in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, but the national position of India remains that the move in Kashmir is an internal issue with no external ramifications.
Soon after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) closed door meeting on Kashmir, Syed Akbaruddin, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told a news conference at the UN: "Our national position was and remains that the matters related to Article 370 are entirely an internal matter of India. These have no external ramifications."
He said the recent decisions by the Indian government are to promote good governance.
"We are gratified that the Security Council in its closed consultations appreciated these efforts, acknowledged them and indicated that this is the direction in which they would like the international committee to move," he said.
He said national statements by countries are being masqueraded as the will of international community.
India's statement followed China's expression of "grave concern" over the situation in Kashmir at the closed door United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.
He said India's position vis-a-vis talks with Pakistan on Kashmir is clear: Stop terror to start talks.
He made the following points answering journalists, including those from Pakistan:
We are committed to Shimla Agreement. It is now for Pakistan to stop terror and start talks.
That Kashmir is a bilateral issue has "very broad acceptance globally."
What measures we took (restrictions in Kashmir) were preventive in measure. It was to stop terrorists. No fatalities in past ten days occurred because every effort was made to ensure that.
We acknowledge that restrictions are there but please give us some time to address it. Public order is integral to democracy. There are reasonable restrictions and we are easing them.
There is a pace, there is a trajectory. It is the people on the ground who will decide on the removal of restrictions.
India is a vibrant democracy and we live by it.
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