The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) rejected recent comments made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as “no -foundation statements” while asking his country to leave the occupied areas of the region.
The statement comes a day after India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, referring to AJK, said the Kashmir dispute would be resolved after the “return of the stolen back of Kashmir that is under the illegal Pakistani occupation.”
Speaking during a session in the group of experts of Chatham House in London on Wednesday, Jaishankar had said: “I think that the path we are waiting for is the return of the stolen back of Kashmir [issue is] resolved. “
The comments occurred in response to a consultation of a journalist, who said that India was illegally occupying the possibility that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, seeks the participation of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to resolve the dispute.
“I think we have done a good job by solving most of [the problem]”Jaishankar said, insisting that the abrogation of article 370 in 2019 and surveys in the region in October 2024 were part of that.
He added that “restoring growth, economic activity and social justice” was another step towards the alleged efforts to solve the problem of Kashmir.
Responding to those statements during a weekly press news session today, Fo spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said: “Instead of making unfounded statements about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir under his occupation since the last 77 years.
“We reject the comments made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India in Jammu and Cashmiro during an event held at Chatham House, London, on March 5, 2025,” said Shafqat.
By pointing out that Kashmiro occupied by India (IOK) was an internationally recognized territory, the FO official said that Jaishankar’s comments “misrepresent terrestrial realities and contravene the international law.”
“The relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council stipulate that the final state of Jammu and Kashmir will be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. India prevarication cannot change this reality, “Shafqat said.
In response to the affirmations of the Indian Minister about the elections held in IOK last year, the FO spokesman said: “We also want to underline that any electoral exercise in accordance with the Indian Constitution cannot serve as a substitute for the granting of the right to self -determination.”
The National Conference of CM Omar Abdullah and its ally, the Indian National Congress, obtained an emphatic victory in October 2024 in the first state elections of the region in dispute since 2014.
“Similarly, the complaints of the people of Cashmiro cannot be approached significantly through economic activity in the gun cannon,” Shafqat said, responding to Jaishankar’s comments on the subject.
The FO official said that India “must realize that a peaceful agreement of the JAMMU and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant resolutions and wishes of the UN Security Council of the People of Cooka is imperative of a lasting peace in southern Asia.”
In August 2019, the ruler Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party of Mod The country’s Supreme Court had confirmed that order in December 2023.
Shortly after the November elections last year, Iok’s Legislative Assembly had requested the restoration of the special state of the region, but Modi rejected that lawsuit.
The two countries saw an achadowed exchange in January this year when the military reacted strongly to the head of the Indian army calling Pakistan the “epicenter of terrorism.”
“It would be prudent not to enjoy self -deception and appreciate the reality of the land,” said public relations between services (ISPR). The head of the Army personnel (COA), the general also Munir, had also ruled out those “hollow statements” and promised an adequate response to any “misfortune” against Pakistan.
When heading to the AJK Legislative Assembly on February 5, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had reiterated Pakistan’s offer to India to celebrate a dialogue to solve the problem of Kashmir.
However, at the same time, the prime minister had affirmed that Pakistan would not hesitate to use his “full strength” for his national interests.
