ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday accused India of violating the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people by changing the domicile law for Jammu and Kashmir.
The Pakistan Foreign Office's remarks came a day after India hit out at Prime Minister Imran Khan for commenting on the domicile rules for Jammu and Kashmir, saying repeated attempts to interfere in India's internal affairs will not make its "untenable" claims acceptable.
Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement that the latest Indian action is aimed at further usurping the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people through changing the domicile law at a time when the world is busy fighting COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the new law, anyone who has resided for 15 years in Jammu and Kashmir or has studied for seven years and appeared in Class 10 and Class 12 examinations in an educational institution located in the Union Territory is a domicile.
"India's incessant regurgitation of the claim that Kashmir is an internal affair will neither turn this falsehood into truth, nor make this illegality legally valid," said the FO.
The FO said that Pakistan and its leadership will never flinch in their support for the just and legitimate cause of the Kashmiri people.
Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5 and bifurcating it into two Union territories.
India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was its internal matter.
It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda.