“We are disappointed to note the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the US Department of State’s tweet regarding the resumption of 4G mobile internet in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” said the Spokesperson of the Foreign Office Zahid Chaudhri, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This comes in response to a tweet posted by the official account of the United States (US) Department of State that referred to the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir as “India’s Jammu and Kashmir.” Since then, the US State Department has clarified that there is no change in its Kashmir policy, which recognises Kashmir as a disputed territory between India and Pakistan.
“The reference is inconsistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as recognized by numerous United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the international community,” said the Foreign Office’s statement.
Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest items on the agenda of the UNSC, which remains unresolved because of India’s intransigence and unwillingness to implement the relevant UNSC resolutions and its own solemn commitments made to Pakistan, the Kashmiris and the international community, the statement said.
The Foreign Office’s statement stressed that the political and economic progress of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is inextricably linked to the realisation of their desire for exercising the right to self-determination.
“The international community, including the United States, must urge India to stop its consistent and systematic human rights violations in IIOJK—including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, incarceration of political leaders, ongoing efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory, extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris in fake “encounters”, and staged cordon-and-search operations—and take genuine steps to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions,” the statement concluded.
