ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it would take its dispute with India over Kashmir to the International Court of Justice, after New Delhi revoked the special status of its part of the region earlier this month.
Islamabad reacted with fury to that decision, cutting trade and transport links and expelling India’s ambassador.
“We have decided to take the Kashmir case to the International Court of Justice,” Pakistan’s foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told ARY News TV on Tuesday. “The decision was taken after considering all legal aspects.”
The case would center on alleged human rights violations by India in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but rule in part, Qureshi said.
A spokesman for India’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India denies committing human rights violations in Kashmir.
A senior US State Department official said it was up to Pakistan to decide whether it wanted to take the matter to the court, but added: “Our view is that a resolution in Kashmir is not aided by multilateralizing it. The answer is direct conversation between India and Pakistan.”
Pakistan to take Kashmir dispute with India to World Court
Pakistan to take Kashmir dispute with India to World Court
- The case would center on alleged human rights violations by India in Kashmir, Pakistan foreign minister says
- India’s revocation of disputed Kashmir’s special status left Islamabad in fury, cutting trade and transport links and expelling India’s envoy
Sri Lanka boosts T20 World Cup security with eye on India-Pakistan games
- Elite commando units to guard teams from arrival to departure, official says
- Pakistan fixtures have been shifted to neutral Sri Lanka amid regional tensions
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will deploy elite armed units to protect teams at next month’s T20 World Cup, part of enhanced security measures with a special emphasis on matches between perennial rivals India and Pakistan, officials have told AFP.
The island is co-hosting the biennial cricket tournament with India and will hold 20 games between February 7 and March 8.
The Indian and Pakistani teams will play each other at least once, in their Group A clash in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on February 15.
Cricket matches have long been a stage for expressing political tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, which fought a four-day border conflict last year.
Sri Lanka has given the “highest priority” to ensuring the tournament runs smoothly and is “paying special attention to the India-Pakistan matches,” sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage told AFP late Wednesday.
Elite commando units, usually assigned to guard visiting heads of state, will be deployed to protect all participating teams, police and security officials said.
“From the time they step out of the airport till they return to their aircraft, they will be protected by armed guards,” an official said, asking not to be named.
Pakistan refused to play their fixtures in India due to political hostilities, prompting the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift their matches to neutral Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh also tried to have their matches moved out of India due to security fears, but the ICC rejected the request.
An angry Bangladesh then withdrew from the tournament, and Scotland were drafted in as their replacement.
Pakistan has indicated that it may yet boycott the event in solidarity with Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka maintained a studious silence throughout the India-Bangladesh row.
Cricket Secretary Bandula Dissanayake told AFP Colombo wanted to avoid being drawn into regional disputes.
“In these disputes among India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, we are remaining neutral, all of these are friendly nations,” he said.
But he added that Sri Lanka would be willing to host future tournaments for any of the countries if asked.
Sri Lanka has also used the T20 World Cup as an opportunity to upgrade its international venues.
It has commissioned new floodlights at the Singhalese Sports Club, one of two stadiums in Colombo.
The Pallekele Stadium in Kandy was unaffected by a deadly cyclone that damaged buildings in the region in November, and will host a T20 international between Sri Lanka and England from Friday.
