TSIT ■ New Delhi
India on Thursday slammed Pakistan and China for their joint statement mentioning Kashmir and said that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are, and will always be, an integral and inalienable part of India and no other country has the locus standi to comment on the same.
“We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are, and always will be, an integral and inalienable part of India and no other country has the locus standi to comment on the same,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said addressing a weekly media briefing here.Notably, Pakistan and China issued a joint statement following the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to China which contained several unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistan China joint statement read: “The Pakistani side briefed the Chinese side on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chinese side reiterated that the Kashmir issue was a dispute left from history that should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.”
Further, the Pakistan China joint statement said that the two countries agree to extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.
“It (the China Pak joint statement) also mentioned the projects under the so called China Pakistan Economic Corridor and its extension to third countries. As regards the CPEC, we have consistently conveyed our protests and concerns to China and Pakistan.
CPEC includes projects on the sovereign territory of India that is under forcible and illegal occupation. We resolutely reject any attempts to utilize such projects to change the status quo in the area,” the MEA spokesperson said.
“Any attempts to involve third parties in such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable and will be treated as such by us,” Bagchi added.
