India said it has lodged a strong protest with Islamabad over any “action to alter the status” of territories illegally occupied by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and asked it to vacate all such areas.
It was reacting to the changes to the ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution’ (13th Amendment) Act, 2018, which abolished the AJK Councils’ administrative and financial powers, reducing it to an advisory body.
It was clearly conveyed that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the “so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir” is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a a statement.
“Any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever, and is completely unacceptable.
Earlier this month, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) dominated a joint sitting of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council approved the amendments to the AJK Constitution.
The MEA had said it conveyed to Shah that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ areas, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947.
Through its order on ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ on 21 May, Pakistan prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi seized more authority from the local council to deal with the affairs of the region.
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