Pakistan rejects India's 'baseless' claims on status of occupied Kashmir

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected Indian claims about the status of occupied Kashmir, saying that the neighbouring country’s “unilateral claims of sovereignty have no bearing on the internationally recognised disputed status of the territory”.

The statement came after the United Nations voted on Friday to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries aimed at “a more accurate representation” of continental landmasses, making their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe. India was among the 164 countries that voted in favour of the resolution.

However, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday issued a statement, saying that the resolution did not constitute the endorsement of any specific map, projection or depiction of natural boundaries. It also said that its territory, “including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh”, must be depicted” in accordance with its official map, adding that any deviation was “unacceptable”.

In the statement issued on Monday, FO Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said: “Pakistan categorically rejects India’s baseless assertions regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir which are contrary to internationally recognised facts.”

“India’s unilateral actions and continued illegal occupation cannot alter the internationally recognised disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He added that the Kashmir issue remained one of the oldest unresolved, internationally recognised disputes on the agenda of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

“The relevant UN resolutions stipulate that its final disposition must be made in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people, expressed through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices,” he added.

“The official UN maps, which depict Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, remain the only cartographic representation of its current legal status,” he said.

“India’s so-called official maps and unilateral claims of sovereignty have no bearing on the status of the disputed territory,” the FO spokesperson said.

“Pakistan urged the international community to ensure that India immediately stops human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and fulfils its commitment towards the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” the FO spokesperson concluded.

The UN resolution said the new map, known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection, “is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world”.

It urged member states to adopt the new map in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

The United States had slammed the resolution, saying such moves are “the reason this institution is losing its credibility”.