Pakistan on Monday rejected India’s claims regarding the status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir, maintaining that New Delhi’s assertions of sovereignty cannot change the territory’s internationally recognised disputed status.
The Foreign Office issued the response after India commented on a United Nations resolution aimed at promoting a more accurate representation of continental landmasses on world maps. India was among 164 countries that supported the resolution.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs later clarified that the resolution did not endorse any particular map or depiction of national boundaries. It insisted that Indian territory, including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, should be shown according to its official map and described any deviation as unacceptable.
Responding to the statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan categorically rejected India’s position, saying its assertions on Jammu and Kashmir were contrary to internationally recognised facts.
He said India’s unilateral actions and continued occupation could not alter the disputed status of the territory.
The spokesperson said the Kashmir dispute remained one of the oldest unresolved issues on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.
He added that relevant UN resolutions provide for the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people, expressed through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices.
Khan further maintained that official UN maps depicting Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory represented its current legal status.
