Pakistan has revealed that it “contacted US authorities” after the office of the US trade representative shared a map of India that showed the entire Jammu and Kashmir region, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin, an area claimed by China, within Indian territory.
Describing the map as “illegal”, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Tahir Andrabi said he “noted with satisfaction” that Washington made the “requisite correction to highlight the legal UN-sanctioned map of our region.”
Andrabi’s comments came after the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), on Wednesday, 11 February, took down a social media post featuring the map. He was responding to a question during a press briefing on Thursday, 12 February, and said that Islamabad had contacted US authorities.
Last week, the USTR’s office posted information about the India-US trade deal after New Delhi and Washington announced details of their bilateral interim agreement framework. Along with the details of the deal, the USTR posted a map of India on the social media platform X.
What did the map show?
The now-deleted map of India showed the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as well as the Aksai Chin region, as part of the Indian territory.
Both regions remain disputed between India and its neighbours, Pakistan and China, with India maintaining that both are integral parts of its territory.
How Pakistan reacted
Andrabi said the US side made the requisite correction to highlight the ‘legal UN-sanctioned map of Pakistan.’
“The map was put up by certain handles. We contacted US authorities. They realized that the map was incorrect. The international map on J&K, which delineates Pakistani and Indian territories, is legally sanctioned by the UN. If you go to the UN website, you will see the actual map,” said Andrabi.
He added that Pakistan notes with satisfaction that “the US side made the requisite correction to highlight the legal UN-sanctioned map of our region, which clearly delineates Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory, whose settlement is to be done through a UN-administered plebiscite in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.”
What previous maps have shown
The map differed from earlier versions issued by Washington.
On previous occasions, maps of India had shown a demarcated line to portray the PoK and Aksai Chin region. But the USTR map of India showed the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, including these two areas, as an integral part of India.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. India also asserts that Aksai Chin is an integral part of its territory based on historical claims and past treaties.
