'Unwarranted': India reacts to J&K's reference in China-Pakistan joint statement

India has strongly criticised a joint China-Pakistan statement on Jammu and Kashmir as "unwarranted references" since the Union Territory including Ladakh are "integral and inalienable" parts of India.

India's response comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met Chinese President Xi Jinping in China from June 4 to 8, during which both nations also discussed the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through India's sovereign territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"We have noted unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement between China and Pakistan of June 7. We categorically reject such references. Our position on the issue is consistent and well known to the concerned parties," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.