India holds first meeting as Chair of Colombo Process
India chaired its first meeting as Chair of the Colombo Process at the Permanent Representative Level Meeting at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Headquarters in Geneva.
India on Thursday rejected ”unwarranted references” to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement issued by China and Pakistan during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing.
”We have noted unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir in the joint statement between China and Pakistan of 07 June 2024. We categorically reject such references. Our position on the issue is consistent and well known to the concerned parties. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has the locus standi to comment on the same,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Noting that the same statement also mentions activities and projects under the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), some of which are in India’s sovereign territory under forcible and illegal occupation by Pakistan, the spokesperson said, ”We resolutely oppose and reject any moves by other countries to reinforce or legitimise Pakistan’s illegal occupation of these territories, impinging on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
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The joint statement said China and Pakistan oppose any ”unilateral action” for the resolution of all outstanding issues in South Asia after Mr Sharif ‘briefed’ the Chinese leadership on the situation in Kashmir.
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