Pakistan rejects Indian protest on Jammu and Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday rejected the Indian protest over the constitutional amendment to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution (13th Amendment) Act, 2018, and its claim over Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir (IOK).

“The Government of Pakistan categorically rejects India’s protest against the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Interim Constitution (13th Amendment) Act, 2018, and its fallacious and baseless claim over the Indian Held State of Jammu & Kashmir as an ‘integral part’ of India,” the Foreign Office said.

“The Indian claim has no legal basis and continues to be contradicted by the situation on ground over the last seven decades,” the Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement. A joint sitting of the Azad Jammu& Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council, earlier this month, approved the much-awaited 13th amendment to the Constitution of AJK, securing more empowerment for the State Government.

Under the amended Constitution, most of powers earlier exercised by the AJK council have been transferred to the AJK Legislative Assembly and the government leaving the Kashmir Council to function as an advisory body.

The spokesman said the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir was a “disputed” territory and its disputed status was enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. He said it stipulates that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir would be determined through the democratic method of a transparent, free and fair plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiris.

These resolutions, pledging the right to self-determinationto the people of Kashmir, are accepted by India, Pakistan and the international community, the spokesman said and added the Indian attempts to deflect attention from the ongoing atrocities in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including the use of pellet guns and human shields, through baseless, fallacious contentions were regrettable and bound to failure.

Indian intransigence to implement UN Security Council resolutions in letter and spirit continues to hold hostage peace and development in the region, the Foreign Office said. “Instead of making frivolous protests and issuing legally untenable and uncalled for statements, India should take steps to vacate its illegal occupation, fulfill its international obligations and expedite resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute in line with the UN Security Council resolutions,” the spokesman said.