India Rejects Sharif-Dar Article 370 Remarks as Pakistan Observes Youm-e-Istehsal

On August 5, 2026 — the seventh anniversary of India's revocation of Jammu & Kashmir's special status — Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar labelled India's 2019 constitutional amendments 'illegal' and a violation of international law, as Pakistan observed Youm-e-Istehsal Kashmir with a solidarity rally on Islamabad's Constitution Avenue led by Federal Minister Amir Muqam and a one-minute silence at 9:00 a.m. India's MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a rebuttal: 'The Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are, have always been, and shall forever remain an integral and inalienable part of India,' adding that 'Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matters that are strictly internal to India' and accusing Islamabad of peddling falsehoods to deflect from its own human-rights record while sponsoring terrorism. President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Sharif also issued separate solidarity messages to Kashmiris.