The challenge is contained in a December 6 letter addressed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon by the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations in New York. India's notifications enumerating its claims in regard to Sir Creek were placed on the web site of the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea in May and November 2009.
The 96-km estuary separates India's Gujarat state from Pakistan's Sindh province. The Indian claims "impinge upon Pakistan's territorial limits in Sir Creek area and encroach upon its territorial waters, which are within its sovereign jurisdiction," the letter tells the UN chief.
"This encroachment by India in Pakistan's limits is a grave violation of international principles and established practices and clear violation" reads the relevant article of the UN Law of the Sea Convention.
The articles state that the system of straight baseline may not be applied by a State in such a manner as to cut off the territorial sea of another state form the high seas of Exclusive Economic Zones. "While the Government of Pakistan reserves its right to seek suitable revision of this notification, any claim India makes on the basis of ... Indian Notification to extend its sovereignty/jurisdiction on Pakistani waters or extend its internal waters, territorial sea, Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf is, therefore not acceptable to Pakistan ...," the letter added.
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What is this VISAN guy whinning about here ? Buzz-off pal, not interested in your biased explanations of the dispute...period.
dear friends, it is very old issue. i have personally visited the disputed land twice. when both countries were united, the area was part of kutchh, gujarat. later on, when dispute created then prince of kutchh and british ruler had posted the red coloured G pillars to divide the border. due to geological changes many pillars are lost aftter alomost 100 years. both countries must resolve the issue on bases of resurvey of area, which has already done twice. i wonder, why the truth is not get disclosed?? due to this dispute both countries can't identify their international sea border in the sea. which is resulted kidnnaping of fishermans from both sides on name of infiltration. it is the part of kutchh india and there is no doubt on it...it is other countries who r interested to countinue this dispute. becoz of exclusive economic zone..
While arguments can go on about India's existence before 1947, the issue of Sir Creek (Kutch) certainly predates 1947 by several decades. It may be more useful to know that neither India nor Pakistan created a new issue but merely inherited an old dispute.It existed at least since the beginning of 20th century if not earlier when independence itself, let alone partition, was not even a dream. The Maharawal of the Princely State of Kutch and British Indian State of Bombay (of which Sindh was then a part) were engaged in a bitter dispute on this Creek. The differences kept surfacing in 1900,1910,1925 & so on. And it continues. Almost all disputes in the Subcontinent are the "gifts" of the British: Durand Line, McMahon Line (Indo-Tibet/China),even Radcliffe Lines/IB both in West & East, territorial demarcations due to treaties with innumerable Princely States and other deliberately confusing lines were drawn arbitrarily or left vague by the colonists & imperial cartographers.
And no body has the sagacity to solve the issues that history has left behind..Peoples of India & Pakistan have not come up with an ounce of wisdom to set right the wrongs of the Englishmen, who can no longer be held accountable.
Again the fault lies with corrupt and impotent pakistani govt. Ut has failed to protect Pakistani interests ang rights on all fronts.
Interesting attitudes people exhibit on here.
Hu Jintao ; You need to know your geography. For your info, the British India as it was known stretched from Afganistan to Bengal and Assam, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (excluding some minor pockets like Goa, Pondicherry etc). Did u forget the famous Afghan wars between British and the Afghans. And by the way India did not snatch Kashmir, It was Maharaja's accession. Indeed it was Pakistan who snatched part of Kashmir. So pl read history from right sources and geography as well. And we are not in any shock of 1947. We are quite comfortable with Pakistan's existence though prefer to have a peaceful pakistan than its current state.
NA: I dont have a problem, As I stated, it was an observation
@Hu Jintao There was India before Partition but it was under British. There was no Pakistan before 1947.Yeah 5 states decided to join Pakistan and do remember how we broke your 5th state which is today called Bangladesh. Kashmir is integral part of India.Period.So forget about it. Even your grandchildren can't do anything other than accepting it has a part of India
@pakistani There is a saying "Beggars can't be choosers". If Pakistan wants a good relations it must accept what we Indians say. India can do without Pakistan not the other way around.
@NA Pakistan is not in a position to give orders.Better hurry up to pay your IMF loan which is due early year,in which India also has a stake which contributed $10 billion in 2009.
India already has Kashmir in his hands , If she want good relations she has to be a giver .
@vasan:
LOL! Still couldn't come out of the shock of 47?
There was no india or anything like that pre partition. Perhaps you need to revisit history 5 muslim majority states joined up to form Pakistan. No one grabbed it so cut the whining infact it were you grabbed muslim majority Kashmir and hyderabad.
@Babloo: Good point. Please accept Kashmir, Siachin, Sir Creek are disputed territories and update your geographic maps.
@vasan: If Pakistanis don't trust these countries, you mentioned, than what is your problem...
@vasan: true, their entire world confined within pakistan border because of their hatred spreading madrasa educated ill filled mindset
Real stuff : If u read Pakistani papers and the comments, one comes to the conclusion that Pakistanis never trust India, Israel, Iraq, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Saudi, USA , European countries . Latin american countries, China and N Korea are exceptions.
Vasan if people start going back to their roots after living hundreds of years the world would be chaos. Secondly I am Rajpoot and I am Pakistani, where should I have gone? Thirdly historically there was never "India" as the way you see it.
This is confirmed, India cannot be trusted in any area and that it will continue to back stab Pakistan whether in the form of territorial grabbing, water rights or terrorism etc. With india as its neighbour, Pakistan will always have to stand up for its rights and stay alert.
India did not grab land or water from Pakistan. It was Pakistanis who grabbed the land from India while forming Pakistan. They should have all gone to their ancestors place of Arabia if their claim of India grabbing land/water is to be considered at all.
Now the Indians are grabbing our land and water from the Sindh side. Greedy indians want entire Pakistan from the day it was created.
Why do India and Pakistan try to settle disputes ? Any attempt to settle dispute will lead to more disputes, more arguments and more ill-will !! So the best scenario is to define the dispute and agree both countries to freeze that dispute as defined. Let Pakistan give its version of the dispute. India will give its version in writing. Then both will smile and sign that document and agree that the dispute has been defined, immortalized to be never settled and then we can all live peacefully and not waste energy on things which cannot be settled.
India is such a nuisance in this region.
More Indian Hegemony. It's been the same for 60 years. They keep chipping away at territories in all of south asia. Detestable theft.
Anything new?