The article mentioned was writing by Jennifer Hauser and Bianca Britton for CNN.
Pakistan, on Augsust 30th around 12:00PM (their time) had a nationwide standstill for the people of Kashmir. The Pakistani's were trying to show their support for the disputed stated of Kashmir. Many Pakistani officials saying they stood with Indian Occupied Kashmir while calling the Indian government fascist and calling the occupation a war crime under the Geneva convention.
In my opinion, this is just another tactic in the nearly 70 year long on-and-off war over Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The conflict in Kashmir has largely been due to a clash between the people and government in old Kashmir. Kashmir had a hindu leader but a majority muslim people. Because of the muslim population, Pakistan said they had claim to the region but the government of Kashmir at the time wanted to stay neutral in the conflict. There have been 4 indo-pakistani wars over the territory. The Indian portion of the area has been particularly violent. The Indian government sent troops into the area to try and physically take it over which led to a large loss in life of unarmed Kashmir civilians.
India recently changed the status of their portion of Kashmir to no longer be an autonomous state. It historically was completely in charge of itself except when it came to defense and foreign affairs. The Kashmir people overall were not supportive of this decision. Protesting and violence occured, including the bombing of an indian troop transport that killed over 30 indian soldiers.
China does control around 15% of the region. China as decided to, essentially, be neutral in the conflict. Pakistan was asking China for military support however China refused. China's official statement to Pakistan was essentially telling them to resolve the conflict peacefully.
By Alex Eberhardt
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