Pakistan downgrades ties with India over Kashmir

ISLAMABAD -- The political crisis over the disputed territory of Kashmir escalated Wednesday when Pakistan said it would downgrade its diplomatic ties with India, expel the Indian ambassador and suspend bilateral trade with its regional rival.

Indian authorities have clamped a complete shutdown on Muslim-majority Kashmir as the Hindu-led nationalist government in New Delhi scrapped the region's statehood and special status, including the right to its own constitution.

As the security lockdown by Indian troops continued in Kashmir for a third day, hundreds of migrant workers began the long trek back to their villages in northern and eastern India.

The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan, and is claimed by both. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over control of the mountainous region since they won independence from the British in 1947.

Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state and most people there oppose Indian rule. Insurgent groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989.

The Indian government has shut off most communications, including internet, cellphone and landline networks, with Kashmir. Thousands of additional troops were sent to the already heavily militarized region out of fear the government's steps could spark unrest.

In response to India's action, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told parliament it will expel the Indian ambassador, and the Foreign Ministry later said India has been informed to withdraw the envoy. The decision came at a meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee led by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the heads of the armed forces and senior government officials.

Khan told the meeting his government will use all diplomatic channels "to expose the brutal Indian racist regime" and human rights violations in Kashmir, the government statement said.

Khan also directed Pakistan's armed forces to remain on maximum alert.

Islamabad also said it will review other aspects of its relations with India. It said it will ask the U.N. to pressure India to reverse its decision to downgrade Kashmir from a state to two separate territories. The region also lost its right to fly its own flag and make many of its own decisions.

Pakistan said it would continue extending diplomatic, political and moral support for people living in Kashmir and their "right of self-determination." Pakistan has long called for people in the Indian-controlled part to be allowed to vote on whether they want to sever ties with India.

Sharat Sabharwal, a former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, played down Islamabad's moves, calling them "very symbolic measures."

"Downgrading of diplomatic ties has happened in the past. You maintain your (diplomatic) missions, but at a lower level. The contacts are on. As far as suspending trade ties with India is concerned, India already has withdrawn most-favored-nation status to Pakistan and imposed customs duties of 200% on Pakistani products. Pakistan will be hurting itself as it needs machinery and other products from India," he said.

Earlier, Pakistani lawmakers in a joint session of parliament denounced the action on Kashmir by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The changes include lifting a ban on property purchases by nonresidents of Kashmir, opening the way for Indians outside the territory to invest and settle there. The Muslim population worries such measures would change Kashmir's demography, culture and way of life.

Qureshi said he feared "genocide and ethnic cleansing" by India in Kashmir.

"God willing, one day Kashmir will become Pakistan," he said.

The lawmakers later unanimously approved a resolution condemning the action, saying as a disputed territory, no change in its status could be made by New Delhi under U.N. resolutions on Kashmir. It also asked India to reverse the changes, lift an indefinite curfew and release all detainees in Kashmir.

India has accused Pakistan of arming and training insurgents fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan. For its part, Pakistan denies the charge, saying it offers only diplomatic and moral support to the rebels.