- Row follows New Delhi’s objection to UN maps that do not depict Jammu and Kashmir within India’s official boundaries
- India says maps misrepresent its territorial integrity, Islamabad argues UN cartography reflects Security Council resolutions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday rejected Indian assertions over Jammu and Kashmir, saying statements by New Delhi cannot alter the region’s disputed status that is recognized internationally.
The statement came a day after New Delhi said that a United Nation-backed world map must show the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh according to India’s official map, adding that any “inaccurate” or “misleading” representation would be unacceptable to the country.
New Delhi’s assertion came two days after India voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution intended to promote a more accurate representation of the relative sizes of the world’s continental landmasses.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries claim the territory in full but rule it in part and have fought multiple wars over the region.
“Pakistan categorically rejects India’s baseless assertions regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir which are contrary to internationally recognized facts. India’s unilateral actions and continued illegal occupation cannot alter the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Pakistani foreign office said on Monday.
“The official United Nations maps, which depict Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, remain the only cartographic representation of its current legal status. India’s so-called official maps and unilateral claims of sovereignty have no bearing on the status of the disputed territory.”
The foreign office noted that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains one of the oldest unresolved, internationally recognized disputes on the agenda of the 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,” it said.
“Pakistan urges the international community to ensure that India immediately stops human rights violations in the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and fulfils its commitment toward the realization of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, in line with the relevant UNSC resolutions.”
