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India abolishes Kashmir special status with rush decree

Home Minister Amit Shah told parliament that the president had signed a decree abolishing Article 370 of the constitution giving special autonomy to the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

(Agence France-Presse)

New Delhi, India

Mon, August 5, 2019 Published on Aug. 5, 2019 Published on 2019-08-05T13:44:14+07:00

Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district near the Line of Control on February 27, 2019. Pakistan said on February 27 it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir. (Agence France Presse/STR)

T

he Indian government on Monday rushed through a presidential decree to scrap a special status for disputed Kashmir, hours after imposing a major security clampdown in the region.

Home Minister Amit Shah told parliament that the president had signed a decree abolishing Article 370 of the constitution giving special autonomy to the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

The decree said the measure came into force "at once".

Kashmir has been divided between Indian and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. The Indian-administered part of the territory has been in the grip of an insurgency for three decades that has left tens of thousands dead.