A day after India’s UN map remarks, Pakistan provokes again over Jammu and Kashmir

Jolted by the statement of India's Ministry of External Affairs on the map of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan attempted to provoke again on Monday, calling New Delhi's assertion “baseless”.

The statement by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs comes a day after MEA's Randhir Jaiswal issued a clarification regarding the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after backing the African Union's resolution to “rebalance” the world map.

New Delhi's assertion came two days after it voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at correcting the world map to promote a more accurate representation of continental landmasses.

In a statement, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India voted in favour of the map, explaining that the vote stressed “the underlying principle of promoting equal - area cartographic representation.”

“We also highlighted that the resolution does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection or depiction of national boundaries,” the MEA said on Sunday.

The statement by Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan on Monday categorically rejected what it described as “India's baseless assertions regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir which are contrary to internationally recognized facts.”

“India's unilateral actions and continued illegal occupation cannot alter the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains one of the oldest unresolved, internationally recognized disputes on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. The relevant UN resolutions stipulate that its final disposition must be made in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people, expressed through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices,” the Pakistani statement read.

Appearing to be uneasy by New Delhi's firm stand, the Pakistani statement said, “India's so-called official maps and unilateral claims of sovereignty have no bearing on the status of the disputed territory.”

The UN resolution over map

The resolution titled "Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World's Regions, Particularly Africa" was adopted on September 4.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Sunday said, “India voted in favour of the resolution and also made an explanation of vote stressing on the underlying principle of promoting equal - area cartographic representation.”

"Our position on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable," Jaiswal noted.

Jaiswal said the purpose of the UN resolution is "to encourage the use of equal-area map projections that preserve the relative sizes of continental landmasses."

"The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names," he said.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo, received 164 votes in favour, with abstentions from Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, and a lone vote against from the United States.