India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today demarched a senior Pakistan diplomat and said that the Imran Khan-led government should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.
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Conveying its strong protest on Pakistan Supreme Court's order of giving a green signal to conduct general elections in the "so-caled Gilgit-Baltistan", an integral part of India, the MEA said, "India completely rejects such actions and continued attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Pakistan's Supreme Court had on Thursday allowed the federal government to conduct the coming general elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.
"Headed by the chief justice, a seven-judge Supreme Court bench had taken up the federal government’s application seeking amendments to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 to conduct general elections by adopting the Election Act 2017 and subsequent rules/regulations and setting up a caretaker government during the interim period," reported Pakistan's leading daily Dawn.
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"The five-year term of the incumbent government of GB is due to expire in the last week of June whereas next general elections in the region will become due within 60 days after the expiry of the GB Legislative Assembly," the report mentioned further.
Responding strongly, India said "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 MEA 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 J-K."
The ministry also made it a point to highlight the human rights violations committed by Pakistan in the region.
"It was further conveyed that such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of parts of Union Territories of Jammu & 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,” said the statement..
