Tuesday was a day of heated exchanges between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of conducting elections in Gilgit-Baltistan to “camouflage its illegal occupation of the regions.”
Pakistan, on its part, accused India of violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control and said New Delhi should steer clear of interfering with Islamabad’s bilateral relations with Beijing and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Calling the upcoming elections in the Gilgit-Baltistan areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as “an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its forcible and illegal occupation of the regions,” a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said: “The entire State of Jammu and Kashmir which includes the regions of Gilgit and Baltistan is an integral part of India.”
Earlier in 2009, India had lodged a protest with Pakistan over its attempts to grant self-rule to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, and grant the regions province-like status without constitutionally becoming part of Pakistan.
Reacting to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s recent comments that India will not move ahead on talks with Pakistan unless there is an atmosphere of peace, Pakistan’s National Security and Foreign Affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz said Islamabad’s policy all along has been that all outstanding disputes, particularly that of Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved through dialogue.
To Ms. Swaraj’s assertion that dialogue would only take place between the two countries within the framework of the Shimla agreement and the Lahore declaration, Mr. Aziz said that, “Pakistan believes that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are important stakeholders in the final resolution of the dispute since they have yet to exercise their right to self-determination as enshrined in numerous UN Resolutions.”
Ms. Swaraj had said India will not welcome the intervention of the U.N. or the Hurriyat in talks with Pakistan.
