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India on Wednesday rejected the formation of a Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, calling it “without any legal basis” and asserting that Pakistan has no authority to enter into arrangements concerning Indian territory under its occupation.
Reacting to the commission’s inaugural meeting in Islamabad, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi’s position on the issue remained “clear and consistent”.
“There is no boundary between Pakistan and China. We reject the so-called Joint Commission, which is without any legal basis,” Jaiswal said in response to media queries on September 16.
The commission’s first meeting, co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Ministry official Li Ya and Pakistan’s Director General (China) Bilal Mahmood Chaudhary, focused on cooperation in border management, joint border surveys, trade flows and people-to-people connectivity, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Jaiswal reiterated India’s position that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India”.
“Pakistan has no locus standi to enter into arrangements concerning Indian territory under its illegal and forcible occupation,” he said.
India rejects 1963 boundary agreement
The MEA Spokesperson also reaffirmed India’s rejection of the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963, under which Pakistan ceded territory in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir to China.
“We have never recognised the so-called ‘China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement’ of 1963 and have consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid,” Jaiswal said.
India has long opposed arrangements involving territories under Pakistan’s occupation, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), portions of which pass through Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Rejecting any attempt to legitimise what it described as illegal occupation, Jaiswal said India would oppose measures affecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Any so-called boundary cooperation between China and Pakistan concerning Indian territories would be completely unacceptable and would have no bearing whatsoever on India’s sovereignty over these territories,” he said.
Calling on Pakistan to withdraw from the territories under its occupation, Jaiswal added: “Instead of engaging in such theatrics, we call on Pakistan to immediately vacate the areas under its illegal and forcible occupation.”
Team BharatShakti
