Beijing, Dec 13: China, an ally of Pakistan, has reacted to the Indian Supreme Court verdict on Article 370. It has called for the Kashmir issue to be resolved through dialogue and consultations between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Supreme Court endorsing the government’s August 2019 decision to scrap the region’s special status.

 

 

 

The reaction from China’s foreign ministry came a day after the country’s traditional ally, Pakistan, rejected the verdict given by India’s top court on Monday. Pakistan’s caretaker foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said the ruling was the product of a “pliant judiciary”.

 

A five-judge Constitution bench on Monday unanimously endorsed the August 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir, calling the move the “culmination of the process of integration” of the erstwhile state into the Union of India.

 

Asked about the court’s judgment at a regular foreign ministry media briefing in Beijing, spokesperson Mao Ning said, “China’s position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear-cut. The Kashmir issue, left from the past, needs to be resolved peacefully and appropriately by the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and relevant bilateral agreement.”

 

 

She added, “Parties concerned need to settle the dispute through dialogue and consultation to maintain regional peace and stability.”

 

Earlier, Pakistan had strongly rejected saying India has “no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan”.