Delhi’s CPEC claims dismissed as ‘unwarranted’

Pakistan and India have embroiled in a fresh war of words over Kashmir as well as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) after New Delhi objected to the joint statement issued at Beijing that called for the resolution of the dispute as per the UN Security Council resolutions.

India also reiterated its opposition to CPEC, claiming the flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) passes through a disputed territory.

But Pakistan dismissed India’s claims as “unwarranted and preposterous”, while expressing concerns over New Delhi’s efforts to sabotage CPEC.

Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics held wide-ranging talks with the Chinese leadership. The joint statement issued after his meetings with the Chinese leadership mentioned Kashmir as a disputed territory and both the sides called for its final settlement as per the UN resolutions.

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It is believed that China has become more vocal on Kashmir ever since India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split it into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh regions. The changes, observers say, were one of the main reasons that led to the border standoff between India and China in the Ladakh region.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan categorically rejected the unwarranted and preposterous comments made by the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the Pakistan-China Joint Statement of February 6.

“We also strongly reject India’s persistent propaganda against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Pakistan has shared irrefutable evidence of India’s sinister campaign to sabotage CPEC through its dossiers released in 2020 and 2021,” the spokesperson added.

He added that there was strong evidence of India’s involvement in recent sinister attempts to stir up unrest in Balochistan by supporting anti-state elements. “Besides, Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav is a living and irrefutable proof of how India has been seeking to sponsor and patronise subversive activities in Pakistan and the region.”

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Similarly, the spokesperson said New Delhi’s baseless claims over Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) can neither change the facts of history nor the legal status of the dispute.

“IIOJK never was and never will be India’s ‘integral part’. The irrefutable fact remains that India is an occupation force in IIOJK in clear violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, seeking to change the internationally recognised disputed status of IIOJK and to alter its demographic structure, have been rejected by the Kashmiris, by Pakistan, and by the international community.”

He said Pakistan would continue to extend all possible support to Kashmiris in their just struggle against India’s illegal occupation.

“Rather than resorting to false and misleading assertions without success, India must vacate its illegal occupation of the disputed territory, immediately reverse its illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, and let Kashmiris 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 UNSC resolutions,” the spokesperson maintained.