RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan Army’s support for Kashmiris in their just struggle for freedom from illegal Indian occupation.

“Pakistan Army firmly stands by the Kashmiris in their just struggle to the very end,” the army chief said during a Corps Commanders Conference on Kashmir situation at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Qamar Javed Bajwa warned India that armed forces of Pakistan were prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil their obligations in this regard.

The Corps Commanders Conference fully supported the government’s rejection of Indian actions regarding Kashmir.

“Pakistan never recognised the sham Indian efforts to legalise its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir through article 370 or 35-A decades ago; efforts which have now been revoked by India itself,” said the forum.

The Indian government on Monday announced to repeal the special status given to the occupied Kashmir under the constitution’s Article 370, which is feared to spark unrest in the disputed territory.

The announcement was made after massive deployment of additional Indian soldiers by the Indian government and thousands of tourists and Hindu pilgrims had been forced out of the Himalayan valley.

Educational institutes have been closed, public gatherings banned and internet and cellular services suspended indefinitely in the occupied valley. Mainstream and separatist Kashmiri leaders alike placed under house arrest, including former J&K CMs Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah. Residents of the valley had stockpiled essential rations and fuel amid the security crackdown.