India slams China, Pakistan over J&K reference

New Delhi: Stung by the reference to the Kashmir issue in a Sino-Pakistani  joint statement from Islamabad two days ago, India lashed out at both China and Pakistan on Tuesday, rejecting the reference to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and reminding them that it is an integral part of India while instead “expressing concern” over their controversial  China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). New Delhi said it opposed any action by them to change the status of PoK which is Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan and called on the two neighbours to “cease such actions”. The controversial Sino-Pakistan joint statement had been issued during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Islamabad on Sunday. This latest controversy comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India to attend the second Informal Summit next month.

In “response to a query on reference to J&K in the Joint Statement issued after the Chinese Foreign Minister’s recent visit to Pakistan”, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Tuesday said, “We reject the reference to Jammu & Kashmir in the Joint statement issued by China and Pakistan after the recent visit of Chinese foreign minister.

J&K is an integral part of India. On the other hand, India has consistently  expressed concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects in so-called ‘China Pakistan Economic Corridor’, which is in the territory of India that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947.”