Pakistan Rejects Indian EAM’s Remarks on AJK

Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has firmly rejected recent remarks by India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM), calling them baseless and urging India to vacate occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

The FO’s response came after Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during a session at Chatham House in London, claimed that the Kashmir dispute would be resolved with the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir under illegal Pakistani occupation.”

During a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan dismissed Jaishankar’s statement, emphasizing that India should focus on vacating the territories it has unlawfully occupied for the last 77 years instead of making baseless claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The FO reiterated that Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) is an internationally recognized disputed territory. Shafqat Ali Khan stated that Jaishankar’s remarks misrepresent ground realities and violate international law. He stressed that United Nations Security Council resolutions clearly stipulate that the final status of IIOJK must be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision. He further asserted that India’s tactics would not alter this reality.

Addressing India’s claims regarding elections in IIOJK last year, the FO spokesperson stated that any electoral process under the Indian constitution cannot replace the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.

The FO also emphasized that India must acknowledge that a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute, in line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, is essential for lasting peace in South Asia.