ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has termed the Indian revocation of special status for disputed Kashmir a “unilateral and unjust” move that will jeopardize peace in the region.
“Just when the Afghan peace process was making a smooth headway, India has played the role of a spoiler by creating this distraction,” he told Arab News from Jeddah where he was attending the emergency meeting of the OIC on Kashmir hosted on Tuesday.
Qureshi said, “Russia, China, Central Asian Republics, and Pakistan all have shared objective to have peace restored in Afghanistan, the cease-fire implemented, and stability returning to the country.”
“This kind of diversion at this stage, at such a sensitive point, neither serves the region nor helps the US interests. They [India] have rather hindered [the process] through this destruction.”
Qureshi said that Islamabad will “use all diplomatic, legal and political options against the unilateral and unjust Indian decision of revoking special constitutional status of Indian occupied Kashmir.”
Pakistan has already initiated efforts to lobby world powers, he continued.
“Pakistan has not only taken up the issue with United States but also has started using its diplomatic contacts with China, Russia and other powers of the world.”
He said that US President Donald Trump had offered to mediate on Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India which New Delhi unfortunately rejected.
“Now, Pakistan will use United Nations Security Council as well as other humanitarian and legal ways to take up the volatile issue of Kashmir to save the Kashmiri brothers,” he added. “Our legal experts are looking into all the possible dimensions to use the International Court of Justice or other legal platforms.”
Qureshi said that “the world has not only condemned India’s ruthlessly imposed decision on Kashmiri people but has rejected it altogether.”
He said the Kashmiri diaspora is in “sheer anguish” while voices within India are condemning the move. “Indian legal experts, themselves, are saying that the decision is unlawful and can be a big challenge for its government. It will create chaos within India.”
Pakistan has constituted a seven-member committee to review the political, diplomatic and legal aspects to prepare a proposed response in view of the critical situation of the Indian administered Kashmir.
According to the official notification, the committee comprises Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Attorney-General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, renowned international law expert Ahmer Bilal Soofi, as well as three top military generals including chiefs of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Operations, and the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
India’s Kashmir decree a ‘spoiler’ in Afghan peace process — Qureshi
India’s Kashmir decree a ‘spoiler’ in Afghan peace process — Qureshi
- Says New Delhi’s revocation of Kashmir’s special status will have regional implications
- Pakistan vowed to make all diplomatic and political efforts to challenge the Indian move
Police arrest 49 suspected militants in Pakistan’s Punjab in a month
- The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan last year
- Authorities have lodged cases against the arrested suspects affiliated with banned outfits
ISLAMABAD: The counter-terrorism department (CTD) of Punjab police has arrested 49 militants in different areas of Pakistan’s most populous province in a month and foiled a major terror plan, the CTD said on Saturday.
Pakistan is currently facing an uptick in militant attacks, mainly by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which borders Punjab.
The attacks in KP have forced authorities in Punjab to heighten security and take pre-emptive measures in view of potential spillover of militants into the country’s most populous province.
CTD officials arrested these militants in 425 intelligence-based operations and seized weapons, explosives and other prohibited materials from the arrestees, according to a CTD spokesperson.
“Forty-four cases have been registered against the arrested terrorists and further investigation is being carried out,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The development comes a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387. These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
CTD conducted 6,131 combing operations in the province and arrested 599 suspects, according to the statement. Around 570 police reports were registered against these suspects, which led to 477 recoveries.
In Nov., the Punjab government had launched the country’s “first” mobile counterterrorism unit to monitor complex security operations in real time, while in Sept. the province announced the arrest of 90 suspected militants in a three-month counter-terrorism sweep.
Pakistan has struggled to contain the surging in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban and Islamabad broke down in Nov. 2022. The country faces another decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists in its southwestern Balochistan province.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.
