New Delhi
14 October 2009
India on Wednesday advised China to take a long-term view of the Sino-Indian
relations and to "cease" undertaking infrastructure projects in Pakistan-Occupied
Kashmir (PoK).
India fired the latest salvo the day after China expressed dissatisfaction at Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi responded to it
by iterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Vishnu Prakash said: "Pakistan has been in
illegal occupation of parts of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947. The
Chinese side is fully aware of India's position and our concerns about Chinese activities
in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. We hope that the Chinese side will take a long term view
of the India-China relations, and cease such activities in areas illegally occupied by
Pakistan."
Mr Prakash was referring to a Xinhua report that quoted Chinese President Hu Jintao as
saying that China will continue to engage in projects with Pakistan inside PoK.
"We are glad to witness the smooth progress of a number of major cooperative projects
under the joint efforts of both sides, such as the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project
and the upgradation of Karakoram highway," the report said quoting President Hu, who
met with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Beijing on Tuesday.
President Hu said that Gilani, like his late father Alamdar Hussain Gilani, is an old and
good friend of China. He recalled that in the 1950s, Gilani's father met with the late Mao
Zedong and Chou En-lai in China. He also said that China and Pakistan are friendly
neighbours joined by mountains and rivers, and the countries enjoy an all-weather
friendship.
Gilani is on a four-day visit to China. He participated in the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) meeting on Wednesday.
Another project on which China and Pakistan are cooperating is the Bunji hydroelectric
project in PoK. China and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding on building
a 7,000 MW hydro-power project in Bunji in the Northern Areas during Pakistani
President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to China in August this year. The project would be built
on a BOOT (build, operate, own and transfer) basis. The MoU was signed between
Pakistan's Water and Power Ministry and China's Three Gorges Project Corporation.
India objected to the project, saying it is being constructed in a part of the state of
Jammu and Kashmir under illegal occupation of Pakistan. On 11 September, India lodged
a protest with Pakistan over the proposed construction of the project. The same day,
India protested through diplomatic channels against the promulgation of "Gilgit-Baltistan
Empowerment and Self Governance Order -2009."
India contended that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India by
virtue of its accession in 1947, and, therefore, the "so-called 'Gilgit-Baltistan
Empowerment and Self Governance Order -2009' is yet another cosmetic exercise
intended to camouflage Pakistan's illegal occupation." Pakistan has for the past six
decades denied the basic democratic rights to the people in those parts of the state of
Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation.
China has signed a multi-million dollar pact with Pakistan to construct 12 dams in
Pakistan.
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