FO dismisses India’s remarks on Pak-China strategic dialogue as ‘irresponsible’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday “strongly” rejected “unwarranted and irresponsible” comments made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson on a joint statement of the second round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue.

Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the MEA’s contentions about Jammu and Kashmir being 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 (UNSC) Resolutions.

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“India’s self-serving claims regarding Jammu and Kashmir, including the parts which are under illegal Indian occupation, have no basis whatsoever,” he said in a statement.

“Pakistan also categorically rejects India’s malicious propaganda against the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is another manifestation of desperate Indian attempts to mislead the world community.”

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The spokesperson said 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 the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) 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,” he stressed, adding India must immediately vacate its illegal and forcible occupation of IIOJK 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.