Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Foreign Office on Sunday rejected the “unwarranted and irresponsible” comments made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. India’s statement was on the joint press release of the second round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue held recently.
“The Indian MEA’s contentions about Jammu and Kashmir being the so-called ‘integral and inalienable part’ of India and an ‘internal affair’ are a laughable fiction, totally contrary to historical and legal facts and in violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,” FO spokesperson Zahid Chaudhri said in a statement.
“India’s self-serving claims regarding Jammu and Kashmir, including the parts which are under illegal Indian occupation, have no basis whatsoever.”
On Saturday, India had “rejected” the joint statement issued after the strategic dialogue in which the Chinese side stated that the Kashmir issue should be resolved according to the relevant UNSC resolutions and opposed “unilateral actions” in the region.
“The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India and we expect the parties concerned not to interfere in matters that are internal affairs of India,” the Indian MEA spokesperson had said, according to Hindustan Times.
India had also reiterated its opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the report added. In a statement released, the FO spokesperson also rejected India’s “malicious propaganda” against CPEC, calling it “another manifestation of desperate Indian attempts to mislead the world community”. “India has no locus standi on the issue — historical, legal or moral. The regurgitation of false claims by India can neither change facts nor divert attention from India’s state terrorism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and its egregious violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people.
“Rather than resorting to false and misleading assertions, India should faithfully implement its international obligations.
“India must immediately vacate its illegal and forcible occupation of occupied Kashmir and let the Kashmiris exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations as enshrined in the relevant UNSC resolutions.” Separately, the FO on Sunday also rejected Indian media reports regarding sanctions on banned organisations.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued two consolidated statutory regulatory orders on August 18, reflecting the current status of the UN Taliban and ISIL and AQ sanctions list. “These lists contain the names of individuals and entities designated under the two sanction regimes established pursuant to the UNSC resolutions.” The statement added that consolidated SROs were issued periodically and that similar orders had been issued by the ministry in the past as per the requirement to meet international obligations. “The last such SROs were issued in 2019.
“Reports in certain sections of the media about Pakistan imposing new sanctions, through these SROs, are not factual. “Similarly, assertions made by some sections of the Indian media, as to Pakistan admitting to the presence of certain listed individuals on its territory, based on the information contained in the SRO, are baseless and misleading.”
