Pakistan has reiterated its firm stance on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), firmly dismissing India’s recent assertions over the region. The Foreign Office emphasized that India’s unilateral measures and ongoing occupation do not change the internationally recognized disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing media questions about a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding a map of IIOJK, Foreign Office spokesperson Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan declared Pakistan’s categorical rejection of India’s unfounded claims on Jammu and Kashmir’s status. He stressed that India’s actions cannot alter the longstanding dispute acknowledged by the international community.
Khan highlighted that the Kashmir conflict remains one of the oldest unresolved issues on the United Nations Security Council’s agenda. The relevant UN resolutions call for the final resolution of the dispute through a free and impartial plebiscite under UN supervision, reflecting the will of the Kashmiri people.
The spokesperson pointed out that official UN maps continue to depict Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, representing its current legal status. He dismissed India’s so-called official maps and unilateral sovereignty claims as having no impact on the region’s disputed nature.
Pakistan also urged the international community to press India to halt human rights abuses in IIOJK and to fulfill its obligations regarding the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.
In a related development on September 6, India supported a UN General Assembly resolution promoting the use of more accurate world maps, while reaffirming that its stance on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh remains unchanged. The resolution, adopted on September 4 by a vote of 164 to one, encourages equal-area map projections that better represent the relative sizes of continents.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that the resolution does not address disputed territories or national borders. Nevertheless, he insisted that India’s sovereign territory, including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map. Jaiswal warned that any map India deems inaccurate or misleading is unacceptable, reiterating New Delhi’s clear, consistent, and non-negotiable position on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The resolution was part of an African-led initiative aimed at correcting distortions caused by the Mercator projection used in many world maps.
