“Unwarranted References”: India Trashes China-Pakistan Joint Statement on J&K

New Delhi: India strongly condemned a recent joint statement by China and Pakistan regarding Jammu and Kashmir, labelling it as “unwarranted”.

The statement, issued following Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, included references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which India rebuffed, asserting that these territories are integral parts of India.

In response to the joint statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh, have always been and will remain “integral and inalienable” parts of India. The statement also condemned mentions of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the same context, asserting that certain CPEC projects infringe upon India’s sovereign territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which India does not recognize.

India has repeatedly voiced opposition to the CPEC, a corridor aimed at linking China’s Kashgar with Pakistan’s Gwadar port, spanning 3,000 km through territory claimed by India.