AJKLA rejects US envoy's remarks

MUZAFFARABAD:

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution rejecting reported remarks by a US envoy describing Jammu and Kashmir as part of India, reaffirming that the status of the disputed territory remains unresolved under relevant United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) resolutions.

AJK assembly's speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar moved the resolution, which received unanimous approval. The resolution expressed strong indignation over the reported remarks attributed to US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor earlier this month.

During a recent visit to Srinagar, Gor stated that Jammu and Kashmir is an "important part of India". This drew strong condemnation from Pakistan.

The resolution declared that such assertions could neither alter nor prejudice the internationally recognised disputed status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). "The state of Jammu and Kashmir is not part of India," the resolution maintained.

The house unanimously stated through the resolution that Jammu and Kashmir remained a disputed territory whose final disposition was yet to be determined in accordance with the aspirations of its people and the framework envisaged in relevant UN resolutions.