India slams China for raising Kashmir issue at UN again, calls matter 'internal'

India responded after the spokesperson of the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the UN has recently said, "The Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the Charter of the United Nations, Security Council Resolutions and bilateral agreements. China opposes any unilateral actions that complicate the situation."

In response, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "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.

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&K are internal matter to India."

Urging China to stay away from issue, Srivastava 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."

"We also expect China to recognise and condemn the scourge of cross-border terrorism that affect the lives of the people of India, including in J&K," the MEA spokesperson said slamming Pakistan's cross-border terrorism.

Jammu and Kashmir, the former Indian state which was turned into an union territory in August last year after the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, is a bone of contention between the two nuclear armed nations- India and Pakistan.

As Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state before India's Independence, the then Hindu ruler Maharaja Hari Singh opted to merge his state with India in October, 1947 signing the Instrument of Accession. Though he initially wanted to be independent, he decided to merge with India when the armed Pakistan tribesmen raided his territory and killed his soldiers and marched towards Srinagar.

India refers to the territories under Pakistan as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or POK. 

The bilateral relation between New Delhi and Islamabad remained on the boil over the terror attacks in Indian Kashmir with India making its stand clear that there cannot be any talks over Kashmir till Pakistan-sponsored terrorism ends.

Pakistan is going all out to raise the Kashmir issue internationally since India's abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A (special powers to former Jammu and Kashmir state), often seeking the help of its all-weather ally China.