India rejects Pak-China joint statement on J&K

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 3

India has rejected the “joint statement” released in Beijing following the recent visit of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif during which he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. India has objected to references to J&K as also projects under the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its extension to any third country.

“We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The UTs of J&K and Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi to comment on the same,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

“As regards the so-called CPEC, we have conveyed our protest and our concerns to China and Pakistan. CPEC includes projects on the sovereign territory of India under forcible and illegal external occupation. We resolutely reject any attempts to utilise such projects to change the status quo in this area,” he added.

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