NEW DELHI: A day after US President Donald Trump called up Prime Minister Imran Khan and asked him to moderate his rhetoric on Kashmir, Pakistan reiterated its decision to take the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
The call to Imran came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Trump and shared his concern over the Pakistani leadership’s hate speech that was inciting violence, which was not conducive for peace.
A White House readout of the call to Imran said the President spoke on the need to reduce tensions and moderate rhetoric with India over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan lost the edge it hoped to get from the US, as Secretary of Defence Mark T Esper on Tuesday agreed with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a telephonic conversation on Tuesday that the recent developments in J&K are an internal matter of India. He hoped that any issue between India and Pakistan will be resolved bilaterally.
During the 21-minute conversation, Rajnath Singh discussed cross-border terrorism and appreciated US support for India’s effort to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Imran is furious over India revoking special provisions under the Article 370 to J&K and breaking up the state into two Union Territories.
Speaking with a news channel, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “We have decided to take Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice.”