'China's position on the Kashmir issue consistent, clear'

Issues regarding IIOJK should be resolved according to UNSC resolutions and bilateral agreements, China adds

China has said issues regarding Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) should be resolved peacefully and properly according to the UN charter, relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and bilateral agreements.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated that China’s position on IIOJK was 'consistent and clear'.

Spokesperson Wenbin also rejected the notion, when asked in a question, of China not having a neutral position over the recently given provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

On November 2, Pakistan categorically rejected Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ irresponsible and unwarranted statement regarding Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), saying that India has no locus standi whatsoever on the issue — legal, moral or historical.

Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri had said in a statement that for more than 73 years, India had been in illegal and forcible occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Regurgitation of false and fabricated claims by India can neither change the facts nor divert attention from India’s illegal actions and continuing humanitarian crisis resulting from the perpetration of the worst human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” it said.

“Pakistan’s position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains firmly anchored in the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The final resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is only possible through the exercise of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination by holding a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.”

The statement had came hours after the Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that India opposed any “material changes” in Gilgit-Baltistan, claiming it to be a part of Indian territory.

Chaudhri had added that administrative, political and economic reforms were a long-standing demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, adding that the envisaged provisional reforms reflected the aspirations of the indigenous populace of the region.

“Pakistan calls upon India to immediately end its illegal and forcible occupation of pans of Jammu and Kashmir and comply with its international obligations by allowing the Kashmiris to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.