In India's Response To China's Kashmir Reference At UNGA, A Swipe At CPEC

Raising the Kashmir issue at the UN, China has told the General Assembly that the 'dispute' should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 28 September 2019 1:52 pm

India on Saturday registered its strong disapproval of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang's reference to Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly, saying the recent developments in the erstwhile state were "entirely a matter internal" to the country.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that China was well aware of India's position on Jammu and Kashmir, adding India expects other countries to respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Raising the Kashmir issue at the UN, China has told the General Assembly that the "dispute" should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and the bilateral agreement. China, a close ally of Pakistan, also stressed that no actions should be taken that would unilaterally change the "status quo".

"We expect that other countries will respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change the status quo through the illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," Kumar said.

"The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement," State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi said in his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday.

"No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken. As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes to see the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relationship between the two sides," Wang said.

Earlier on Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, too, targeted his Indian counterpart over the abrogation of Article 370, saying there will be a "bloodbath in J&K when the curfew is lifted."

Last month, India withdrew the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will come into being on October 31.

India's decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian ambassador.

(With inputs from PTI)