India has issued a demarche to a senior Pakistani diplomat to protest the Islamic republic's court decision to allow Islamabad to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan area in the disputed Kashmir region, the Ministry of External Affairs said Monday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2020) India has issued a demarche to a senior Pakistani diplomat to protest the Islamic republic's court decision to allow Islamabad to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan area in the disputed Kashmir region, the Ministry of External Affairs said Monday.
Last week, Pakistan's Supreme Court allowed the Federal government to hold elections in the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit-Baltistan in September.
"It was clearly conveyed that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & 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 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 Jammu & Kashmir," the ministry said.
The statement went on to demand that Pakistan "immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation."
The situation in Kashmir has traditionally been strained due to conflicting sovereignty claims by India and Pakistan. Tensions escalated in August when the Indian government annulled Jammu and Kashmir state's special status and placed it under New Delhi's direct control. Islamabad strongly condemned the move.
