India slams ‘unwarranted references’ on J&K in Pak-China joint statement

New Delhi: India on Tuesday slammed the “unwarranted references” to Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Joint Statement issued by China and Pakistan following a meeting between the leaders of the two countries in Beijing, reiterating once again that no other country has the locus standi to comment on the same.

“India categorically rejects unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Joint Statement between China and Pakistan,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated while responding to media queries on the issue.

“India’s position is consistent and well known to the concerned parties. 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,” he added in a strongly-worded statement.

In a meeting with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping had mentioned accelerating the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a “shared future” in the new era.

In another meeting, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir assured Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the Pakistani military will continue to “fully promote” the building of a Pakistan-China community with a shared future and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

India has maintained that the so-called “illegal” CPEC as a flagship project of ‘OBOR/BRI’ (One Belt One Road Initiative) directly impinges on the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.

“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. This has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese authorities several times,” the MEA spokesperson stated again on Tuesday.

“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. India has never recognised the so-called 1963 boundary agreement between Pakistan and China,” Jaiswal mentioned.

IANS