No reason for Pakistan to draw comfort from Congress’ stand on abrogation of Article 370, says Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday asserted that there is no reason for Pakistan to draw comfort from his party’s stand on the issue of abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. [caption id=“attachment_4669321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. PTI[/caption] The Congress leader said his party was opposing the manner in which Article 370 was abrogated because the way it was done assaulted the Constitution and democratic values. “Spot on, chief! This is what @INCIndia has insisted all along: Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India; we opposed the manner in which Article 370 was abrogated because the way it was done assaulted our Constitution and democratic values. No reason for Pak to draw any comfort from our stand”, Tharoor said retweeting Rahul Gandhi’s tweet in which he (Rahul Gandhi) asserted that Kashmir is an integral part of India and there is no room for Pakistan to interfere in it. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi hit out at Pakistan for instigating violence in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that all matters related to the region are India’s internal issues with no room for Pakistan’s interference. Gandhi, in a series of tweets, said he disagreed with the government on many issues but made it clear that aspects related to Jammu and Kashmir are internal for New Delhi. “I disagree with this government on many issues. But, let me make this absolutely clear: Kashmir is India’s internal issue and there is no room for Pakistan or any other foreign country to interfere in it”, Rahul said in a series of tweets. “There is violence in Jammu and Kashmir. There is violence because it is instigated and supported by Pakistan which is known to be the prime supporter of terrorism across the world”, Gandhi wrote in another tweet. This comes after Pakistani minister for human rights, Shireen Mazari, on Tuesday said she has a written a letter to 18 UN Special Procedures mandate on Kashmir issue. In her letter, Mazari has claimed that Rahul Gandhi has noted that people are dying in Jammu and Kashmir. Last week, Gandhi was sent back from Srinagar airport when he reached there along with a delegation of Opposition leaders to take stock of the situation after the abrogation of article 370 which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre revoked Article 370 of the Constitution on earlier in August and reorganized the region into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Communication services were suspended post the move and curbs were placed on civilian movement with heavy security manning every nook and corner. While many parties backed the Centre on the move, Congress opposed it tooth and nail, barring some leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Bhupinder Singh Hooda who voiced support for the decision. At present, relaxations have been provided bringing relief to residents. Phone services and internet have been restored partially and life in the region is limping back to normalcy with reopening of schools and other institutions. Pakistan has made desperate attempts to internationalise the issue but ended up being isolated at every forum with nations acknowledging Jammu and Kashmir to be New Delhi’s internal matter.