Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir its own Constitution and decision-making rights for all matters barring defence, communications and foreign affairs. Its removal ended the special status of the state

Pakistan's caretaker government on Monday (Dec 11) rejected the judgement announced by India on the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier in the day, India’s Supreme Court approved the Union government's 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, which stripped the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.

A five-judge Constitution bench, presided by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justices SK Kaul, Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai and Surya Kant delivered the verdict.

"Pakistan categorically rejects the judgement announced by the Supreme Court of India on the status of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute which remains on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades," Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas said.

"The final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir is to be made in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. India has no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan,” he added.

He then said that the Kashmiri residents have an inviolable right to self-determination under UN Security Council resolutions.

"We will certainly write to the UN, the United Nations Secretary-General, OIC Secretary General, the European Union parliament, basically apprising them of the futility of this decision, its legality; we will point out the illegalities and the contradictions that are there in this decision,” Jilani said.

What Was Article 370?

Article 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir its own Constitution and decision-making rights for all matters barring defence, communications and foreign affairs. Its removal ended the special status of the state.

Contained within Article 370 was Article 35A, which allowed the erstwhile state to define who it acknowledged as permanent residents and gave special rights, such as government jobs and owning property.

However, as mentioned in the constitution, and pointed out by the court during the judgement, Article 370 was a temporary measure.

In 1951 a Constitution Assembly was elected for Jammu and Kashmir to formulate the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir within the ambit of the Indian Constitution, and ‘subjects in respect of which the state should accede to the Union of India.'

And it was understood that this Assembly would have the authority to determine the future course of Article 370.