After UAE and Sri Lanka, now Maldives backs India's decision on Article 370

MALE (Maldives): After Sri Lanka and the UAE, the Maldives has backed India's decision to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir, terming it an "internal matter" of the country.

In a statement, the Maldives said it considers "the decision taken by the Government of India regarding Article 370 of the Indian Constitution as an internal matter".

"We believe it is the right of every sovereign nation to amend their laws as required," the statement added.

On Tuesday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe backed the creation of a new Union Territory of Ladakh, noting it would be the first Indian state with a Buddhist majority.

Wickremesinghe, in a tweet, also said that the creation of Ladakh and the restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir were India's internal matters.

The UAE Ambassador Ahmad Al Banna said his country has taken note of the Indian government's decision to abrogate Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and added that it was India's internal matter aimed at improving efficiency.

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"We also took note of the introduction of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in the Indian Parliament aimed at replacing Article 370 with the creation of Ladakh region and the state of Jammu and Kashmir as India's two new Union Territories," he said.

He added that from his understanding "the reorganisation of states is not a unique incident in the history of independent India and that it was mainly aimed at reducing regional disparity and improving efficiency".

He said the latest decision related to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as "an internal matter as stipulated by the Indian Constitution".