UK envoy to Pakistan visits PoK, India says ‘unacceptable’

The British envoy to Pakistan, Jane Marriott, Wednesday visited Mirpur city in PoK along with an official of the UK Foreign Office. Marriott later wrote on social media site X that 70 per cent of British-Pakistani people have their roots in Mirpur. She also posted photographs from the visit.

In response, the MEA Saturday said India has taken serious note of the “highly objectionable” visit.

“Such infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable,” it said, adding: “Foreign Secretary has lodged a strong protest with the British High Commissioner in India on this infringement.”

The statement reiterated that “the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are, have been and shall always remain an integral part of India”.

During her trip to Mirpur, Marriott held meetings with the business community and officials. A significant portion of the population from the area had migrated to the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. A sizable chunk of its population holds dual British and Pakistani citizenship.

“Salaam from Mirpur, the heart of the UK and Pakistan’s people to people ties! 70% of British Pakistani roots are from Mirpur, making our work together crucial for diaspora interests. Thank you for your hospitality!” she posted on X Wednesday.

The UK High Commission in Islamabad also posted a video on X, showing Marriott visiting a business enterprise in Mirpur and speaking with a local football team.

In October last year, in the wake of US envoy to Pakistan Donald Blome’s visit to PoK, New Delhi had conveyed a similar message to Washington, registering its “strong objection” and urging the international community to respect its “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Blome had visited Gilgit-Baltistan, which India considers part of undivided Jammu & Kashmir. He had visited several recreational places and projects of the United Nations Development Programme. Blome also met the Deputy Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, Sadia Danish, and a Member of the Assembly, Rani Sanam Faryad.

The Indian government has often reiterated India’s claim on PoK, especially in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which stripped Jammu & Kashmir of its special status.

During the recent Winter Session of Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that 24 seats have been reserved for PoK as the territory “is ours”. He was speaking during a debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

A few months back, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said PoK “is, was and will remain a part of India” and that the Pakistan government will achieve nothing by repeatedly claiming it. He had emphasised that the illegal occupation of the PoK does not give Pakistan any locus standi. “A unanimous resolution has been passed in the Parliament regarding PoK that it is a part of India. Not one but at least three proposals of this intention have now been passed in Parliament,” Singh had said.

“A large part of Jammu and Kashmir is under the occupation of Pakistan. People on the other side are seeing that people are living their lives peacefully in J&K. People living in PoK are going through a lot of suffering and they will raise the demand to go with India,” Singh had said at a public event in Jammu.