India tells Pak to vacate illegally occupied areas
India has strongly told Pakistan to vacate all Indian areas of Jammu & Kashmir illegally occupied by it. The Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on 29th July that the so-called elections in the Indian territory of occupied Jammu & Kashmir region are an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation. India has lodged a strong protest with the Pakistan authorities on this cosmetic elections exercise which has been protested and rejected by the local people. He said Pakistan can neither hide the illegal occupation nor the grave human rights violations, exploitation, and denial of freedom to the people in these occupied territories. He added that Pakistan has no locus standi on these Indian territories. Reacting to a joint press release after the meeting of Foreign Ministers of China and Pakistan mentioning Jammu and Kashmir, Bagchi said India categorically rejects any reference to Jammu and Kashmir in such a joint statement. He said Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been and will remain integral and inalienable parts of India. The said joint Pakistani-China press release also made a reference to so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Bagchi said India has consistently conveyed to China and Pakistan that the so-called CPEC is in India`s territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. India conveyed that it is resolutely opposed to any attempts by other countries to change the status quo in the areas illegally occupied by Pakistan. India has asked the concerned parties to cease such actions. The Indian official said India was closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan. India and the world wish to see an independent, sovereign, democratic and stable Afghanistan, and unilateral imposition of will by any party will not provide legitimacy. He stressed that gains over the last two decades should be preserved.