ISLAMABAD, AUG 5: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed fears that the Modi administration is planning to restore the statehood of Jammu, while maintaining the union territory status for occupied Kashmir.

He remarked while addressing a rally taken in connection with Youm-e-Istehsal — the sixth anniversary of New Delhi abrogating the semi-autonomous status of India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) — from the Foreign Office to D-Chowk in Islamabad on Tuesday.

“On August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were declared as union territory but now it’s being said that Jammu will be given a statehood,” Dar said while referring to the Indian media reports.

The deputy prime minister said the decision in this regard maybe announced in the next few hours or days.

Under the rumoured move, he said occupied Kashmir will remain a union territory. “This is all condemnable, unacceptable and provocative.”

Indian media reports claim that Indian president’s back-to-back meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah fuelled speculations that the government in New Delhi may start the process of restoring the occupied region’s statehood.

The development came as the Indian Supreme Court will hear an application seeking directions to the central government to restore the statehood of the IIOJK on Friday (August 8).

Addressing the rally today, Dar urged India to revoke all illegal actions taken on August 5, 2019, end its oppressive measures in IIOJK, and lift the media blackout in the region.

He said Pakistan would continue extending diplomatic, political, and moral support to the Kashmiri people until their inalienable right to self-determination is realised.

He underscored that Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute, and its future cannot be determined through internal legislation or court rulings.

The foreign minister also reiterated that Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence, but its commitment to peace should not be mistaken for weakness. He affirmed Islamabad’s desire for friendly relations with all neighbouring countries and its preference for dialogue and diplomacy over confrontation.

Dar, however, warned that Pakistan’s armed forces and its people are fully capable of delivering a resolute response to any act of aggression — as demonstrated during Marka-e-Haq, the name given by the Pakistan Army to the period of conflict with India from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the May 10 conclusion of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.