NEW DELHI -- The rest of the globe is beginning to react to India's decision to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, with Russia becoming the first permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to back the move, which has otherwise garnered guarded responses.
Pakistan also claims sovereignty over Kashmir and has sought an emergency Security Council meeting over the matter. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said in a televised message that he has sent a letter to the 15-member Security Council requesting it meet to discuss India's "illegal" step. China, a close ally and one of the Security Council's five permanent members, "fully supports" Pakistan on the issue, he added.
