ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office has said that India has no locus standi whatsoever on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
In response to media queries regarding the statement made by the Indian State Minister for External Affairs in the Indian Parliament regarding the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the situation in Afghanistan, and the CPEC, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said on Saturday that “We categorically reject baseless and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian State Minister for External Affairs.”
The Spokesperson said that the CPEC promises socio-economic uplift and regional connectivity.
Chaudhri said that no amount of Indian machinations or propaganda can undermine the significance of CPEC for peace, development, and prosperity of the region.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson also said that regurgitation of false and fabricated claims by India can neither change the facts nor divert attention from India’s illegal occupation and human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The Spokesperson said that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute, pending resolution in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
As for Afghanistan, rather than expressing fake concern for the country, India would be well-advised to stop peddling the delusional ‘contiguous neighbor’ fiction; to remind itself that its role as a ‘spoiler’ in Afghanistan is well-established; and to focus on course correction, he said.
