Pakistan approves India trade freeze & trains suspension as cabinet signs off
Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet has approved the cutting of bilateral trade with India, as well as ending rail service between the neighboring nations. The measures come amid deteriorating relations over the contested Kashmir region.
Islamabad announced earlier this week that it would downgrade diplomatic relations with New Delhi and suspend trade with its neighbour. Then, on Thursday, Pakistan said it would halt the Samjhauta Express, a rail line linking the two countries.
The cabinet signed off on the measures on Friday.
India’s lower house voted on Tuesday to downgrade the status of Kashmir from a state to a union territory, which will prevent the Muslim-majority region from formulating its own legislation.
The move sparked a major diplomatic crisis with Pakistan, which has been in a territorial dispute with India over Kashmir since 1947. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned that India’s decision could lead to a full-blown armed conflict between the two rivals.
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