Article 370 revoked: Work on Kartarpur corridor will continue as planned, announces Pakistan amid rising tensions in bilateral ties

Islamabad: Work on the Kartarpur Corridor would continue as planned, said Pakistan after it made the unilateral decision to downgrade diplomatic ties with India in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government abrogating Article 370. [caption id=“attachment_7132801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara. ANI[/caption] The announcement was made by the Pakistani Foreign Office on Thursday. After a resolution was passed in both houses of Parliament, India repealed Article 370 which stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. The government also bifurcated the state into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. India has maintained that its latest decisions on Jammu and Kashmir are entirely its internal affair. Even then, following a National Council meeting chaired by Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, Islamabad decided to downgrade diplomatic ties with New Delhi. Pakistan has also told India to call back its High Commissioner to Islamabad, Ajay Bisaria, adding that it would not be sending its high commissioner-designate to India, Moin-ul-Haq. Furthermore, Islamabad on Wednesday announced to suspended bilateral trade with India and the Samjhauta Express train service that operates between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani airspace has also been partially shutdown. India has asked Pakistan to review its steps so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved.