Dismissing India’s remarks on a joint Pakistan-China statement about addressing the Kashmir issue, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has demanded India to implement resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) regarding the territory.
Spokesperson Baloch, on late Wednesday night, maintained that India had no right to object to the references made to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement issued by Pakistan and China on June 8.
The statement came in response to media queries regarding the comments made by Indian External Affairs Ministry. Baloch said Jammu and Kashmir was a disputed territory and the dispute was on the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) agenda.
In the joint statement, Pakistan had briefed the Chinese government about the latest developments of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the statement, the “Chinese side reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is left over from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had on June 13 “rejected unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir” by Pakistan and China.
“We have noted unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement between China and Pakistan. We categorically reject such references,” Jaiswal said.
“The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been, are, and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India,” he had maintained.
FO Spokesperson Baloch said it was an established fact that Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally-recognised disputed territory and the dispute had been on the agenda of the UNSC for more than seven decades.
She added that the relevant UNSC resolutions clearly stipulated that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir would be made as per the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the UN.
In that backdrop, the Indian claims over Jammu and Kashmir were totally unfounded and misplaced, she insisted.
“India should not mislead the international community about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a flagship developmental endeavour, agreed upon by two sovereign nations,” the spokesperson said.
Instead of making baseless claims about the CPEC, Baloch said, India should implement, at the earliest, the relevant UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
