US urges respect for rights after India's Kashmir move

Washington calls on all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control

WASHINGTON: Washington on Monday urged respect for rights and called for the maintenance of peace along the Line of Control (LoC) after India revoked the special status of occupied Kashmir.

New Delhi's action sparked fears of further violence in the occupied territory.

"We are concerned about reports of detentions and urge respect for individual rights and discussion with those in affected communities," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.



Just ahead of the Indian announcement, senior former and current Kashmiri political leaders said that they had been put under house arrest.

"We call on all parties to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control", Ortagus said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist party rushed through a presidential decree to scrap from the constitution special status for the Indian occupied Kashmir.



It also moved a bill proposing the Indian-administered part of Kashmir be divided into two regions directly ruled by New Delhi.
Ortagus said the US is "closely following" events in Jammu and Kashmir state, but noted that India has described its actions as "strictly an internal matter."

US President Donald Trump last month said, during a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, that Modi had asked Trump to help mediate the Kashmir dispute.