New Delhi: India on Thursday hit back at China after it objected to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories as “unlawful and void”.
In a strongly-worded reaction to Bejing’s criticism, the External Affairs Ministry raised the issue of China’s “continued occupation” of a “large tract” of area in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Asking China not to comment on India’s internal affairs, the ministry also said the neighbouring country illegally acquired Indian territories from Pakistan-adminstered-Kashmir (PaK) under the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963.
“The matter of reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is entirely an internal affair of India. We do not expect other countries, including China, to comment on the matters which are internal to India, just as India refrains from commenting on internal issues of other countries,” the MEA said in a statement.
It said India has consistently conveyed its concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects in so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is in the territory that has been occupied by Pakistan since 1947.
Referring to the boundary question, the MEA said India and China have agreed to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually accepted solution to the issue through peaceful consultations on the basis of the political parameters and guiding principles that were agreed in 2005.
“This was reiterated also in the 2nd India-China Informal Summit between Prime Minister and President Xi in Chennai earlier this month. In the interim, the two sides have also agreed to maintain peace and tranquility in the border area,” it said.
—PTI

Press Trust of India