‘Jammu and Kashmir situation is serious’: UK PM Boris Johnson
A Downing Street spokesperson said Johnson discussed the situation during a telephone conversation with the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as “serious”, while foreign secretary Dominic Raab spoke to external affairs minister S Jaishankar and conveyed London’s concerns over the developments.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Johnson discussed the situation during a telephone conversation with the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday.
“The Prime Minister received a call from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan to congratulate him on his new role. The leaders discussed the serious situation in Kashmir and agreed on the importance of maintaining dialogue. And they underlined their continued commitment to the bilateral relationship between the UK and Pakistan,” the spokesperson added.
Raab, who has been on a tour of the US, told a television channel that he had spoken to Jaishankar and called for calm. The Foreign Office issued a similar statement soon after the developments unfolded in India’s Parliament this week.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are following developments closely and support calls for the situation to remain calm.”
There have been some demonstrations in London against the Indian government’s decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and divide the state into two union territories.
The Foreign Office advised Britons against all travel to Jammu and Kashmir with the exception of travel within the city of Jammu, travel by air to the city of Jammu, and travel within the region of Ladakh.
The advisory is also against all but essential travel to the city of Srinagar and travel between the cities of Jammu and Srinagar on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The tourist destinations of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg fall within the areas to where the advice is against all travel.
