It has been, is and shall continue to be integral part: India slams China's reference on J&K in UN

New Delhi, Apr 09: India on Thursday rejected a reference to Jammu and Kashmir by a spokesperson of China's permanent mission to the United Nations, asserting that the union territory "has been, is and shall continue" to be its integral part.

Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said India expects China to refrain from commenting on matters internal to India and the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said India also expects China to recognise and condemn the scourge of cross-border terrorism that affect the lives of the people of India, including in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We reject the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in a statement made by the spokesperson of the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations," he said. Srivastava was responding to a query on the remarks by the Chinese spokesperson. "China is well aware of India's consistent position on this issue.

The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall continue to be an integral part of India. Issues related to J and K are internal matter to India," he said. "It is, therefore, our expectation that other countries, including China, would refrain from commenting on matters that are internal affairs of India and respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.