(TibetanReview.net, Dec13’23) – Voicing support for its all-weather friend and India’s arch-enemy Pakistan, China has said Dec 12 that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan. India’s position is that the Kashmir issue is its internal matter.
The Chinese remarks came after India’s Supreme Court judgment on the status of Jammu and Kashmir, upholding New Delhi’s Aug 5, 2019 decision which abrogated Article 370 of the constitution which gave special status to the erstwhile state of India.
“On the Kashmir issue, China’s position is consistent and clear,” PTI news agency Dec 12 quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying, replying to a question by a Pakistani journalist seeking China’s reaction on the decision.
By its 2019 decision, New Delhi made Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory, while declaring Ladakh a separate Union Territory.
Pakistan considers Kashmir a disputed territory, while having a significant portion of it under its rule, which India calls an occupied territory.
A statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Dec 11 contended Jammu and Kashmir is “an internationally recognised dispute, which remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council”, and the final disposition of the matter is to be made in “accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and as per aspirations of the Kashmiri people”.
The statement claimed that India had “no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of this disputed territory against the will of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan”.
Kashmir’s accession to India was executed by Maharaja Hari Singh under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947. The Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on Oct 26 1947, which ceded J&K to the Dominion of India.
In its unanimous decision on Dec 11, the Indian Supreme Court called New Delhi’s move the “culmination of the process of integration” of J&K into the Union of India, saying Article 370 was meant to be a temporary provision.