Article 370 fallout: Pakistan Foreign Minister now dials up South Korean counterpart

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday briefed his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of Islamabad's nefarious designs to internationalise the issue after New Delhi changed the constitutional status of the region.

During a telephonic conversation, the South Korean Foreign Minister said that her country is keeping a close eye on developments in the region, Radio Pakistan reported.

Pakistan is upset with the Indian government's move to strip the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and has found itself completely isolated despite desperate attempts aimed at internationalising the issue.

However, Islamabad has been snubbed on all fronts as the international community has made it clear that the Kashmir issue is strictly New Delhi's internal matter.

On Thursday, Qureshi also held a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Janak Marapana to discuss the same.

The foreign minister briefed his Sri Lankan counterpart on what he called "the illegal and unilateral actions of India to alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir, which was in contravention of the international law and UNSC resolutions."

He further underlined that the steps taken by India in Jammu and Kashmir entailed a "grave risk for peace and security in the region."

Qureshi had written letters on 1, 6 and 13th of this month to the United Nations to apprise the world body of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, referring to the diplomatic efforts to internationalise the Kashmir situation.

He also said that the recently held discussion on Kashmir at the UN Security Council was a great achievement of Pakistan, which was held despite India's hectic efforts to stop it.

The foreign minister stressed that the services of the world's best lawyers are being sought to devise a course of action that could strengthen Pakistan's case on Kashmir in the Hague-based International Court of Justice.

The cash-strapped nation, which is finding it hard to uphold its struggling economy, is now looking forward to raising the issue during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York next month.