Islamabad: Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Wednesday challenged the Indian Prime Minister to come and visit Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, to see for himself how unpopular Indian policies are among the Kashmiri population.
Qureshi was addressing a rally to mark 'Youm-e-Istehsal' (Exploitation Day) to express solidarity with Indian-administered Kashmir, which was stripped of its autonomy on August 5 last year and divided into two federally-administered territories by the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I, as Foreign Minister of Pakistan, invite you to come and address the Kashmiri people in Muzaffarabad. You will personally witness the type of welcome you will get here," Qureshi challenged Modi.
Qureshi also dared Modi to allow Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Srinagar to see what sort of reception he received there. On Aug. 5, 2019 the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the state with its autonomy. It was also split into two federally administered territories.
Simultaneously, it locked the region down, detained thousands of people, imposed movement restrictions and enforced a communications blackout. Indian authorities blanketed Kashmir with troops, who laid out barbed wire and set up road blacks to prevent demonstrations a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government stripped India's only Muslim-majority state of its special rights.
The government said the change was necessary to develop the strife-torn region and integrate it with the rest of India but it infuriated many Kashmiris and neighboring Pakistan. Kashmir is claimed in full by India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it, and both rule parts of it. Militants have been fighting Indian rule in its part of Kashmir since 1989 in a conflict that has killed at least 50,000 dead, according to official figures.
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