India protests UK diplomat's visit to AJK

India says British diplomat's visit to AJK is an infringement on its 'sovereignty and territorial integrity'

MUMBAI:

India said on Saturday it had lodged a protest over a senior British diplomat's visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), saying the trip this week had infringed on India's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott visited AJK along with an official from the UK Foreign Office on Jan. 10, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

India's Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has lodged a "strong protest" to the British High Commissioner to India about the visit, the ministry said, calling the trip "unacceptable".

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Asked to comment on the Indian protest, a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office confirmed Marriott's visit and added: "She met with the UK-Pakistani diaspora, played in a football match with street children and visited a bakery."

This week's visit came as both Pakistan and India head to polls for elections this year.