India on Thursday rejected a joint statement by China and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's recent visit to Beijing. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement released on Thursday, noted the joint declaration "unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir". "We categorically reject such references. Our position on the issue is consistent and well-known to the concerned parties," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The ministry further reiterated that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. "No other country has the locus standing to comment on the same," Randhir Jaiswal said in the statement.
Observing that the statement also addresses activities and initiatives within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including some located in regions of India's sovereign territory currently under Pakistan's forcible and unlawful control, the spokesperson firmly stated, "We firmly oppose and condemn any actions taken by other nations to bolster or validate Pakistan's illicit occupation of these areas, which encroach upon India's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The collaborative statement expressed China and Pakistan's opposition to any "unilateral action" regarding the resolution of all unresolved matters in South Asia, following Sharif's briefing of the Chinese leadership on the Kashmir situation.
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