India has no right to question references made on J&K in Pak-China joint statement: Pakistan Foreign Office

Islamabad, June 20 (IANS) Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that New Delhi holds "no authority or ground" to raise questions on references made on Jammu and Kashmir in the Pakistan-China Joint statement issued in Beijing after talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on June 8.

"It is an established fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally-recognised disputed territory. The dispute has been on the agenda at the UN Security Council for over seven decades," read a statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office.

"The relevant Security Council resolutions clearly stipulate that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations," the statement added.

Pakistan Foreign Office stated that India's claims over Jammu and Kashmir have "no basis and are unfounded and misplaced".

In a joint statement issued by Pakistan and China on June 8, it was stated that the "Jammu and Kashmir dispute is left over from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved".

India took note of the joint statement and rejected references on Jammu and Kashmir as "unwarranted".

"We have noted unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir in the joint statement between China and Pakistan of 07 June 2024. We categorically reject such references. Our position on the issue is consistent and well-known to the concerned parties. 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. No other country has the locus standi to comment on the same," Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's External Affairs Ministry said on June 13.

"The same joint statement also mentions activities and projects under the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), some of which are in India's sovereign territory under forcible and illegal occupation by Pakistan. We resolutely oppose and reject any moves by other countries to reinforce or legitimise Pakistan's illegal occupation of these territories, impinging on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the MEA spokesperson added.

India's criticism of references made in the Pak-China joint statement on Jammu and Kashmir has sparked a diplomatic cross-border exchange of statements as Islamabad called out New Delhi and asserted that it should not try to "mislead the international community on CPEC".

CPEC is a flagship project of China's ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative and holds massive value for Pakistan and its economic development objectives.

"Instead of making baseless claims about CPEC, India should implement, at the earliest, the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir," stated Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

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