Pakistanis protest India's move to scrap Article 370, bifurcation of J&K

Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's right wing Jamaat-i-Islami party held a rally here on Friday to denounce India's decision to revoke Article 370 and bifurcate the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

The protestors tried to march towards the Indian High Commission but were barred by the heavy security deployed at the diplomatic enclave where all the embassies are located.

On Monday, India revoked Article 370 to withdraw the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In reaction to India's move, Pakistan downgraded the diplomatic relations by expelling the Indian High Commissioner and suspended trade ties with New Delhi.

Police said about 5,000 people attended the "Kashmir Bachao March" despite heavy downpour, while the private TV channels put the number of protestors between 6,000 and 8,000.

Addressing the gathering, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq "condemned" the abrogation of Article 370 by India and said Kashmiris would not accept it.

"Today, I want to announce that Kashmiris are not alone in their struggle," he said, as he criticised the Pakistan government for not doing much to counter India's decision.

Rallies were also organised in other parts of the country by various religious and political parties.

All the protests were peaceful, though it was feared that the JI march in the capital might turn ugly as the party has a history of staging violent demonstrations.