Illegal, Illegitimate and Unacceptable: India's strong reaction to China-Pak's CPEC extension to Afghanistan
India has strongly reacted to China and Pakistan"s CPEC extension to Afghanistan saying "any attempts to involve third parties in such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable and will be treated as such by us."
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New Delhi, Nov 4: After Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Beijing and made references on CPEC and Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi said on Thursday those references to Jammu & Kashmir were “unwarranted” and criticised plans to build more projects in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), with possible extensions to Afghanistan, under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Speaking about the Joint Statement released following the recent visit of the Sharif to China, the Ministry of External Affairs spokeperson Arindam Bagchi said, "(joint statement) contains several unwarranted references to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. It also mentions projects under the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its extension to third countries."
"We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has locus standi to comment on the same," he added.
Also Read: Pakistan, China stands more firm to extend CPEC to Afghanistan after Sharif-Xi meet in Beijing
As reported earlier, in the joint statement, Pakistan and China are determined to stand firm on th extension of CPEC to Afghanitan. Responding to it, Bagchi said, "As regards the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, we have consistently conveyed our protest and our concerns to China and Pakistan. CPEC includes projects on the sovereign territory of India under forcible and illegal external occupation."
"We resolutely reject any attempts to utilize such projects to change the status quo in this area. Any attempts to involve third parties in such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable and will be treated as such by us."
"We resolutely reject any attempts to utilize such projects to change the status quo in this area. Any attempts to involve third parties in such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable and will be treated as such by us."
The two leaders discussed the broad-based cooperation in the economy and investment in all areas of bilateral relations, especially CPEC projects and agreed to further strengthen the strategic partnership.
