According to the reports, J&K Peoples Movement (JKPM) president Shah Faesal was on his way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to file a case against India for the abrogation of Article 370 when he was intercepted at the New Delhi report attempting to escape the country, according to a report in New Indian Express.
Shah Faesal was to fly to Turkey from where he was to reach the ICJ in Haque, Netherlands, to file a case against India.
On August 6, 2019, the Indian government abrogated the Article 370 that granted special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, by obtaining a Presidential decree and subsequently passed a resolution for re-organisation of the state. A state-wide lockdown and communication blockade was enforced by the government for avoiding any flare-up in the Valley. Prominent leaders have been detained to stop the Valley from slipping into anarchy.
On August 14, Faesal was detained at the Delhi airport and sent back to Kashmir. The former IAS-turned-politician is held at Sheri Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar. SKICC is turned into a makeshift detention centre where many mainstream Kashmiri politicians have been lodged.
However, as per the norms of the International Court of Justice, only member states, and the states which have accepted the jurisdiction of the ICJ under certain conditions can file an appeal. It is, therefore, debatable whether Faesal just wanted to make an international spectacle to get media attention.
Many opposition leaders and Kashmiri politicians have toed Pakistani line in claiming that India had illegally revoked Article 370. Yesterday, Pakistan was delivered a body blow when China’s attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue failed as UNSC concluded that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. India has maintained that abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir is India’s internal matter and external intervention on the issue is unwarranted.