India rejects Pakistan's stance on new Hindu settlements in Kashmir

Pakistan expressed concern that resettlements are in violation of UN resolutions, would change demographic makeup

NEW DELHI: India refuted on Thursday Pakistan’s stance that new Hindu settlements built in Indian Kashmir would change the demographic makeup of the state and be in violation of UN resolutions.

"Kashmiri Pandits, Muslims and Sikhs are all an integral part of the demography of Jammu and Kashmir,” Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted, according to IBN Live.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam had said, during her weekly press briefing in Islamabad, “Kashmir is a disputed territory and this issue has to be resolved according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people through a plebiscite.”

Read: New Hindu settlements in Indian Kashmir condemnable: FO

“It is natural that while we imagine the resettlement, every political party would want to see that whosoever was uprooted and went out, should be brought back," Jaitley told reporters outside Parliament House.

"This will include people of all religions, but it is natural that Kashmiri Pandits will be in greater numbers," he added.

On Thursday, Aslam said the population mix of Kashmir cannot change.

“The UN resolutions are very clear on the status of the Jammu and Kashmir; there is a clear direction that there cannot be any demographic change and there cannot be any step which would alter the makeup of the state,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.