Pak army shall go to any extent to stand by Kashmiris: General Bajwa

Rattled by India's landmark decisions scrapping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and converting the state into a Union Territory, Pakistan army said on Tuesday that it is prepared to go to any extent to "stand by Kashmiris" in this regard.

"Pakistan Army firmly stands by the Kashmiris in their just struggle to the very end. We are prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil our obligations in this regard," Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said, as cited in a tweet by Army Spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor.

The statement has come a day after India scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and barred people from the rest of the country from buying property there. The BJP-led Centre also converted Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory with a legislature, while hiving off Ladakh as a separate Union Territory without legislature.

Ironically, Bajwa's statement has come even as Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan recently accepted that about 30,000 to 40,000 militants and as many as 40 different militants group are operating on the country's soil.

Meanwhile, Bajwa on Tuesday chaired a Corps Commanders' Conference in Rawalpindi on the developments in Jammu and Kashmir. The conference "fully supported government's rejection of Indian actions regarding Kashmir," Ghafoor wrote in a separate tweet.

"CCC on Kashmir situation at GHQ. Forum fully supported the Government's rejection of Indian actions regarding Kashmir. Pakistan never recognised the sham Indian efforts to legalise its occupation of Jammu & Kashmir through article 370 or 35-A decades ago," the tweet read.

Islamabad has for long aided anti-India activities on its soil, aimed at perpetrating violence in Kashmir. An example of their nefarious designs came to the fore when Indian Army on Saturday foiled an infiltration attempt by Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran Sector, eliminating five-seven Pakistani Army regulars and terrorists.