India Rejects Pakistan-China Boundary Commission as Legally Invalid
India dismissed the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission after its first meeting in Islamabad, reiterating that the 1963 boundary agreement is illegal.
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 response from New Delhi followed the first meeting of the commission, held in Islamabad.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said India's position on the matter is clear and consistent. He stated that there is no boundary between Pakistan and China, and that the so-called Joint Commission is without any legal basis.
Jaiswal reaffirmed that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are, and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. He noted that India has never recognised the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid.
India has long held that Pakistan's transfer of territories such as the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963 was illegal and unacceptable. New Delhi has also opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor because a portion of it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The spokesperson said India resolutely opposes and rejects any attempts to alter the status of these occupied territories or to legitimise illegal occupation, as such actions impinge on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He added that any boundary cooperation between China and Pakistan concerning Indian territories would be completely unacceptable and would have no bearing on India's sovereignty over them.
Jaiswal also called on Pakistan to immediately vacate areas under its illegal and forcible occupation, instead of engaging in what he described as theatrics.