NEW DELHI: Abu Dhabi’s Ambassador to New Delhi Ahmad Al Banna has said the move by the Indian government to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy in the occupied Kashmir would “encourage further stability and peace”.
The UAE’s top official in India has given his backing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over its illegal decision to revoke Kashmir’s treaty of accession, which will take autonomy away from the people of the state and potentially lead to the settlement of Indians in the disputed territory.
He viewed this latest decision related to the state of Jammu and Kashmir as an “internal matter” as stipulated by the Indian constitution.
Dr Al Banna said: “We 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 commented that from his understanding the reorganization 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.
The ambassador expressed hope that this decision of the Indian government would help improve the social and economic conditions and welfare of the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh. “We expect that the changes would improve social justice and security and confidence of the people in the local governance and will encourage further stability and peace,” he added.
On Monday, the Indian government announced it was revoking Article 370 of the Indian constitution which granted a level of autonomy to the region, giving it the right to form its own laws, and also prevented Indian citizens from buying property in Kashmir and holding positions within its administration.