A day ahead of the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370, that stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, 4 August, unveiled a new map of the country that includes the whole of Kashmir and Gujarat’s Junagadh region.
The government of India responded to Pakistan's move and called the new map a "political absurdity" and "ridiculous assertions" that have no international credibility.
WHAT IMRAN KHAN CLAIMS
Imran Khan in his address said that the map edndorses the ‘hopes and beliefs’ of the people of Pakistan and the “unfulfilled wishes” of the people of Kashmir.
“Today, we are introducing the new map of Pakistan before the world. This new map has been endorsed by Pakistan's Cabinet, Opposition and the Kashmiri leadership. This map endorses the hopes and beliefs of the people of Pakistan. This map endorses the unfulfilled wishes of the people of Kashmir and Pakistan,” Khan said.
This map nullifies the illegal step that India took on 5 August last year with regards to Kashmir (Abrogation of Article 370). Starting today, this will be the official map of Pakistan,” Khan added.
WHAT AREAS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE NEW PAK MAP
Congratulating Khan's government and the people of Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the map challenges India's "illegal claim" on Kashmir and its people.
"This is that map which was only talked about by Pakistan governments behind closed doors. Today, our government has revealed that map to the entire world and shown it where Pakistan stands. This map includes Kashmir, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, the areas that are considered disputed and the ones that the people of Pakistan have been wanting to be resolved. India released a map on 5 August last year and made fun of itself and its people in front of the world," he added,
This map will lead the way for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, Qureshi said.
He said that the dotted line in the initial map that used to indicate a "disputed territory" has been done away with. He also said that Siachen has also been included in the new map and that it has always belonged to Pakistan.
Qureshi claimed that the "Kashmiri leadership" has also endorsed the new map.
"This map sends a message to India, it sends a message to the unarmed youth of Kashmir who martyr themselves for the cause, that Pakistan stands with them. This map represents our goal," Qureshi said.
“Our destination is Srinagar, our goal is to achieve and fulfill the dreams of our ancestors,” the foreign minister said, as he congratulated PM Khan.
WHAT ARE KHAN’S CLAIMS ON KASHMIR AND UN
In his concluding comments, Khan said, "There is only one resolution of the Kashmir isue and that lies with the United Nations Security Council, according to which the Kashmiri people have the right to decide by votes if they want to stay with India or Pakistan. This right to self determination of Kashmiris, that the world community had given them, is still being denied to them. We want to tell the world that this is the only solution to the Kashmir issue. "
Khan said that India abrogated Article 370 and allowed people to come settle there so that Kashmiris become a minority in their own state.
“We don’t believe in military solutions, we believe in political solutions,” Khan said, reiterating that Pakistan will keep reminding UN of its unkept promise.
INDIA’S RESPONSE
The government of India responded to Pakistan's move and called the new map a "political absurdity" and "ridiculous assertions" that have no international credibility.
"We've seen a so-called "political map" of Pakistan that has been released by PM Imran Khan. This is an exercise in political absurdity, laying untenable claims to territories in the Indian state of Gujarat and our union territories of Jammu Kashmir and of Ladakh," the Government of India said in a statement.
"These ridiculous assertions have neither legal validity nor international credibility. In fact, this new effort only confirms the reality of Pakistan's obsession with territorial aggrandisement supported by cross-border terrorism," India said.
THE CRUCIAL TIMING OF PAK’S MOVE
The move by Pakistan comes just a day ahead of the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a move by the Modi government on 5 August last year that stripped the state of its special status and divided it into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
A complete curfew has been imposed in Kashmir ahead of the one year anniversary.
The move also comes a day ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday by Prime Minister Modi.
India is already tackling border issues with China since the clash in Galwan Valley and is yet to achieve complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the borders.
The Nepal government too, in June, amended its constitution to adopt a new map to include disputed regions of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani.
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