Pakistan Rejects Indian FM’s AJK Claims
Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected recent remarks made by India’s foreign minister on Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as “baseless claims” while urging India to vacate the occupied region.
The statement came a day after India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar claimed that the Kashmir dispute would be resolved only after the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation.”
Speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London, Jaishankar insisted that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the upcoming October 2024 elections in the region were steps towards solving the issue.
In response, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan dismissed Jaishankar’s remarks, stating:
“Instead of making baseless claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation for the last 77 years.”
He reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, and its final status must be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision.
The FO spokesperson also rejected India’s claims that elections in occupied Kashmir could substitute the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. He emphasized that economic development under military occupation could not resolve the grievances of Kashmiris.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that lasting peace in South Asia depends on resolving the Kashmir dispute as per UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent months, with Pakistan strongly reacting to an Indian army chief’s remarks in January, branding Pakistan as the “epicenter of terrorism.” Pakistan’s military leadership called the statement a “self-delusion” and warned of a strong response to any misadventure.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently reaffirmed Pakistan’s willingness to engage in dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue but asserted that Pakistan would not hesitate to defend its national interests with full strength.
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