India lodges protest over Pakistan SC’s order on ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’
India has conveyed its strong protest to Pakistan's efforts to bring "material change" in Pakistan-occupied territories and asked Islamabad to vacate them.
The protest was lodged with a senior diplomat of Pakistan in New Delhi to protest against an order by Supreme Court of Pakistan on so-called "Gilgit-Baltistan", the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement today.
"It was clearly conveyed that the entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession," the statement added.
"The government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir," the statement said.
"Instead, Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation," it added.
According to the ministry, "It was further conveyed that such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of parts of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by Pakistan nor the grave human rights violations, exploitation and denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past seven decades."
India's position in the matter is reflected in the resolution passed by parliament in 1994 by consensus, the statement pointed out.
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