Kashmir crisis .. Pakistan expels the ambassador of India and suspend trade with them

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Wednesday it had expelled India's ambassador and suspended bilateral trade with its nuclear neighbor, two days after New Delhi abolished autonomy for the disputed Kashmir region.

"We will recall our ambassador from New Delhi and reinstate their ambassador," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on television, while a government statement said Pakistan had suspended trade with India as part of reducing diplomatic ties.

The Pakistan National Security Committee, which is responsible for making key strategic decisions, held a meeting today in Islamabad, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to discuss the situation.

The committee decided to suspend bilateral trade with India and review any other arrangements between the two nuclear neighbors, such as cultural relations and operations at border crossing points.

Pakistan has called the Indian action "illegal and unilateral" and said it would refer the matter to the UN Security Council.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of a possible war between his country and India.

He added that if India responded by carrying out a military strike inside his country, it opened the way for the possibility of war.

After secret preparations, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, last Monday abolished constitutional self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir (north).

The Indian parliament voted to divide Indian Kashmir into two areas directly under New Delhi's authority, threatening to preoccupy the region, which has been undergoing a separatist movement for 30 years.