NEW DELHI: The Authorities of India (GoI) has taken severe be aware of the extremely objectionable go to of the British Excessive Commissioner in Islamabad, Jane Marriott, together with a UK International Workplace official, to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on January 10, 2024. Ministry of Exterior Affairs issued an announcement condemning the go to. ”Such infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable. The International Secretary has lodged a robust protest with the British Excessive Commissioner in India on this infringement,” the MEA assertion mentioned.
India has taken a severe be aware of the extremely objectionable go to of the British Excessive Commissioner in Islamabad, together with a UK International Workplace official, to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on 10 January 2024. Such infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is… pic.twitter.com/2wIDNKMvhA
— ANI (@ANI) January 13, 2024
The row erupted after UK Excessive Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott not too long ago visited Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). She justified her go to to the realm claimed by India as a result of “70 per cent of British Pakistani roots are from Mirpur, making our work collectively essential for diaspora pursuits”.
“Salaam from Mirpur, the center of the UK and Pakistan’s people-to-people ties! 70 per cent of British-Pakistani roots are from Mirpur, making our work collectively essential for diaspora pursuits. Thanks in your hospitality!” mentioned the diplomat on her January 10 go to.
Social media customers in India have been up in arms and a few described her go to as “shameful”, whereas some felt it might be her private resolution and never that of pro-Hindu British PM Rishi Sunak.
India had in October final 12 months criticised US envoy to Pakistan Donald Blome’s tour of PoK. Final month, photos of the US envoy interacting with locals in PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan raised eyebrows in New Delhi as India considers the area a part of its territory.
The US envoy had rankled extra as a result of his six-day go to was briefly stored underneath wraps. However the US embassy in Islamabad then issued a sequence of tweets detailing the envoy’s every engagement within the area.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had then mentioned, “We’ve got objections relating to the go to and the conferences in PoK by the US envoy and we’ve conveyed the identical.”
Notably, Marriott is the primary girl British Excessive Commissioner to Pakistan.
