India on Tuesday strongly rejected “unwarranted” references to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint statement issued by China and Pakistan, reiterating that the Union Territory and Ladakh “have been, are and will” remain an integral part of the country and that no other nation has the locus standi to comment on it.
India’s position is consistent and well known to the concerned parties, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.“India categorically rejects unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Joint Statement between China and Pakistan,” he said.
The joint statement was issued during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China.
“The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has the locus standi to comment on the same,” Jaiswal said.
He was responding to media queries on the issue. India also criticised the mentioning of projects under the so-called ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the joint statement, and said New Delhi rejects any moves to reinforce or legitimise Islamabad’s illegal occupation of territories.
The CPEC passes through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir. “As regards the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, some of which are in India’s sovereign territory, we resolutely oppose and reject any moves by other countries to reinforce or legitimise Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation of these territories, impinging on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
Jaiswal said this has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese authorities several times.
“We have also seen references to the so-called ‘trans-boundary water resources cooperation’ between China and Pakistan. As the two countries do not share any boundary, the question of so-called ‘trans-boundary water resources cooperation’ does not arise,” he said.“India has never recognised the so-called 1963 boundary agreement between Pakistan and China,” he added.
