Pakistan rebuffs India’s criticism of UK envoy’s visit to AJK

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has dismissed the Indian reaction to the visit of British high commissioner to the city of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir.

Sources at the FO informed The News Saturday that the government and people of Pakistan welcome the visit of High Commissioner Jane Marriott to any city in her host country. They emphasised that the high commissioner’s visit was warmly welcomed by the people of the area and Mirpur, who affectionately greeted the visiting envoy. “New Delhi has no right whatsoever to make adverse comments on the visit.”

Earlier Saturday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the visit of British High Commissioner to Mirpur (last Wednesday) was considered an ‘infringement’ of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is ‘unacceptable.’ India has lodged a strong protest with the United Kingdom over the visit to Azad Kashmir by its high commissioner to Islamabad, accompanied by another British official. Indian media has reported that the Indian “Foreign Secretary has lodged a strong protest with the British high commissioner in India over this (so-called) infringement,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.