India Rejects Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission as Legally Invalid

India on Wednesday rejected the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, stating that the body has no legal basis to make decisions regarding Indian territory under illegal occupation. The reaction followed the commission's inaugural meeting in Islamabad.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi's position on the matter is clear and consistent. "There is no boundary between Pakistan and China. We reject the so-called Joint Commission, which is without any legal basis," he said.

India has long held that Pakistan's transfer of territories such as the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963 was illegal and unacceptable. The spokesperson said India has never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid.

Mr. Jaiswal asserted that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. He added that any attempts to alter the status of these occupied territories or legitimise illegal occupation, impinging on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, are resolutely opposed and rejected.

"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.

India has also opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor because part of it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Calling on Pakistan to immediately vacate areas under its illegal and forcible occupation, Mr. Jaiswal said, "Instead of engaging in such theatrics, we call on Pakistan to immediately vacate areas under its illegal and forcible occupation."