PHOTO: AFP
A Foreign Office statement issued on Tuesday said Pakistan wrote a letter addressing the UN secretary general and the Security Council president to convey its concerns over the Indian move.
In violation of UNSC resolutions, the official map of India has been depicting the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India which is factually incorrect and legally untenable.
The FO said after the passage of the controversial “Geospatial Information Regulation Bill”, the Indian government would punish individuals and organisations for labelling Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory as per the UNSC resolutions.
The letter written by Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN called upon the world body to uphold its resolutions on Kashmir and also urge India to stop acts in violation of the international laws.
“We have urged the international community and the UN to fulfil their commitment with the people of Jammu and Kashmir by holding an independent and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices,” the statement reads.
Maps are a highly sensitive issue in India, which has long-running border disputes with several of its neighbours, most famously over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.
The map bill proposes that anyone distributing a map, which the Indian government deems to be wrong, could be liable for INR1 billion ($15 million) fine and a jail term of up to seven years.
“No person shall depict, disseminate, publish or distribute any wrong or false topographic information of India, including international boundaries, through Internet platforms or online services or in any electronic or physical form,” the draft of Geospatial Information Regulation Bill says. The bill, which is up for public consultation, was published on the home ministry’s website last Wednesday.
The new bill also states that a licence will be needed to “acquire, disseminate, publish or distribute” maps.
New Delhi already imposes tight restrictions on maps, but if the bill becomes a law, specific penalties would be imposed for the first time, including for online use.
The latest controversy came at a time when relations between Pakistan and India are already tense. Despite several attempts, the two sides have so far failed to break the deadlock in reviving peace talks, especially after the January 2 Pathankot airbase attack.
Internal matter
Reacting to Pakistan decision to seek UN intervention on the map bill, India termed the issue an “entirely internal legislative matter”.
“The proposed bill is an entirely internal legislative matter of India since the whole of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup. “Pakistan or any other party has no locus standi in the matter.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2016.
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