Pakistan on Thursday claimed that any effort to establish dedicated townships to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir would be in violation of UN resolutions.
Pakistan on Thursday claimed that any effort to establish dedicated townships to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir would be in violation of UN resolutions.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said at a news briefing that India cannot change the population mix by settling outsiders in the Kashmir valley.
"Any effort to establish dedicated townships or special zones to change the demographic makeup of the territory will be in violation of UN resolutions," she said.
She also accused India of discriminatory treatment of Pakistani seamen who were rescued by Indian authorities after an Omani ship sank off the coast of Gujarat on April 4 while on its way to Alang ship-breaking yard in Amreli district.
Aslam voiced concern over reports that the Pakistani seamen were denied proper lodging saying it was breach of international laws and norms. Indian Coast Guard and state marine police had rescued the 17 crew members, 15 of them Pakistanis, of the ship which sank about 10 nautical miles from Pipavav port.
"Those belonging to Yemen were lodged in a hotel while the Pakistanis reportedly were kept in a police station," she said. She said Pakistan high commission in New Delhi has approached the Indian authorities to ensure the security, well-being and early repatriation of Pakistani seamen.
To another question, Aslam said New Delhi has also not responded to Islamabad's queries about the so-called "drug boat", referring to the incident on April 20 when a Pakistani boat carrying 232 kgs of narcotics with street value of Rs 600 crore was seized and eight Pakistanis on board were arrested by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard in international waters off the Gujarat coast.
But India rejected outright the stand by Pakistan that creation of any "dedicated" townships in Kashmir Valley for displaced Kashmiri Pandits would change the demographic makeup of the state and be in violation of UN resolutions.
In a forceful assertion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Kashmiri Pandits along with Muslims and Sikhs are an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The Kashmiri Pandits, Muslims and Sikhs are all an integral part of the demography of Jammu and Kashmir. It is natural that while we imagine their resettlement, every political party would want to see that whosoever was uprooted and went out, should be brought back," Jaitley told reporters outside Parliament House.
"This will include people of all religions, but it is natural that Kashmiri Pandits will be in greater numbers," he added.
The new PDP-BJP Government had assured the Centre that it will soon acquire and provide land at the earliest for creating "composite townships" for displaced Kashmiri migrants in the Valley.
The assurance was given by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed when he called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi for the first time after taking oath on March one.
But, facing flak from opposition parties and separatists, the J and K government made a U-turn on the controversial plans for composite townships in the Valley, saying they would be settled at their native places and "not as an isolated community".
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