Pakistan has once again raked up the Jammu and Kashmir issue after India clarified its position on a United Nations resolution promoting more accurate world map projections, triggering a fresh war of words between the two neighbouring countries.
The row erupted after India and Pakistan, along with almost all UN members, voted in favour of a resolution encouraging the use of maps that more accurately represent the relative size of land masses. India later clarified that its vote did not amount to an endorsement of any specific map or depiction of national boundaries.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said that the country's sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India's official map. The ministry also made it clear that its position on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity was "clear, consistent and non-negotiable".
Pakistan objected to India's assertion of sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir, calling New Delhi's remarks "baseless". In a statement on Monday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains one of the oldest unresolved disputes on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
Pakistan further said that India's "official maps" and its claims of sovereignty have no bearing on what it described as the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The latest exchange comes amid longstanding tensions between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. The two countries have fought three wars over the Himalayan region since gaining independence from British rule in 1947.
What is the UN map resolution?
The UN resolution, adopted on September 4, seeks to encourage the use of equal-area map projections that more accurately represent the relative sizes of continents and land masses. The initiative was led by African nations that have long raised concerns about conventional map projections making Africa appear smaller than its actual size.
The resolution received 164 votes in favour, while the US was the only country to vote against it. Six countries, including Ukraine, abstained.
The UN resolution does not endorse any specific political map or settle territorial disputes. India has maintained that its support for the resolution was based on the principle of accurate cartographic representation and does not alter its position on Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh.
