Pakistan's absurd claims do not have any legal validity or international credibility, India's Ministry of External Affairs said on the new political map released by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"With such claims, Pakistan is proving that with cross-border terrorism, it wants to bring more territories under its control. It is obsessed with controlling more areas", External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Shrivastava said on Thursday.
India has accused Pakistan of sending terrorists into the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir and encouraging separatist movements in the region. Pakistan-based terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-i-Taiba continue to enter the Indian side and carry out terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in unrest, New Delhi has claimed in the past.
Timed for the one-year anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan released its new map on 4 August and it included the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir as part of its territory.
Imran Khan said that the new map would be sent to the United Nations soon and that it will also be used in schools and colleges. In the new map, Pakistan also laid claims over Junagarh, which is part of PM Modi's home state Gujarat, and Sir Creek.
On Wednesday, Pakistan made its third attempt in a year to raise the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Security Council, but the member nations refused to discuss the matter, terming it a bilateral issue.
The two South Asian countries have fought three wars over Kashmir since 1947. Pakistan has long been advocating for the right to self-determination for Kashmir, while also controlling a part of it, known as Independent Kashmir. Meanwhile, India lays claim over the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan as well. The relations between the two countries deteriorated further with the abrogation of Article 370.
