NEW DELHI – Indian lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that strips statehood from the Indian-administered portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir, which remains under an indefinite security lockdown, actions that archrival Pakistan warned could lead to war.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government submitted the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill for a vote by the lower house of Parliament a day after the surprise measure was introduced alongside a presidential order. That order dissolved a constitutional provision, known as Article 370, which gave Kashmiris exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution.
“After five years, seeing development in J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) under the leadership of PM Modi, people of the valley will understand drawbacks of Article 370,” Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said just before the bill was passed. (AP)
