Islamabad is fuming with anger after the World Bank used a map of Pakistan without the territories of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) which they call Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Giglit-Baltistan (G-B).
According to a report in The Express Tribune, Pakistan has decided to lodge an official protest with the World Bank (WB) in this matter.
World Bank’s Lead Economist for African Region Vincent Palmade had used the map in his presentation during the official ceremony of a book launch in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The book titled ‘South Asia’s Turn: Policies to Boost Competitiveness and Create the Next Export Powerhouse’ was launched during the annual general meeting and conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists.
Interestingly, the World Bank has defended its decision to use the Pakistani map that omitted PoK and G-B.
“The WB does not have any official map on Kashmir for India and Pakistan,” Gabi George Afram, the WB programme leader said while responding to a question on excluding G-B and AJK territories.
Pakistan, however, is not satisfied with the explanation and has decided to officially lodge a protest with the World Bank office in Pakistan on this matter.
“After consulting with the Foreign Office, we have issued a disclaimer as the WB official has shown an incomplete and incorrect map of Pakistan,” Pakistan’s Planning Commission’s Chief Economist Dr Nadeem Javeid, who chaired the session in which the WB official used the map, said.
