Pakistan Rejects India’s Kashmir Map Claims, Cites UN Disputed Status

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected India's assertions regarding the status and cartographic depiction of Jammu and Kashmir, maintaining that unilateral claims cannot change the territory's internationally recognised disputed status. The Foreign Office issued the response on Monday after India's Ministry of External Affairs reiterated its position over maps depicting Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Foreign Office spokesperson Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan categorically rejected the Indian position and maintained that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains unresolved on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. Islamabad's position is that the territory's final disposition must be determined in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

The spokesperson said official United Nations maps continue to depict Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory and argued that these remain the relevant international cartographic representation of its legal status. Pakistan maintained that national maps issued by India and unilateral sovereignty claims do not alter the internationally disputed nature of the region.

The latest diplomatic exchange followed debate surrounding a United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted on September 4 promoting the use of a more geographically accurate world map projection. The resolution, backed by 164 countries, supports equal-area mapping designed to represent the relative size of continents more accurately than traditional projections. India subsequently stressed that the resolution did not change its territorial claims regarding Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Pakistan responded by reiterating its longstanding position that the Kashmir dispute cannot be settled through unilateral administrative or cartographic measures. Islamabad has consistently maintained that relevant UN resolutions provide the framework for determining the region's future and has called for the Kashmiri population to exercise its right to self-determination through a free and impartial process under UN auspices.

The Foreign Office also urged the international community to remain engaged with the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir and called for attention to human rights conditions in the disputed territory. Pakistan has repeatedly raised the Kashmir issue at international forums, while India maintains that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of its territory and rejects external involvement in the dispute.

The renewed exchange highlights the continuing sensitivity of Kashmir in Pakistan-India relations, where disagreements over sovereignty, maps and diplomatic terminology frequently trigger official responses from both capitals. The issue carries particular importance for Pakistan's foreign policy and remains one of the central unresolved disputes affecting relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Further diplomatic statements could follow as Pakistan and India continue to present their respective positions at the United Nations and other international forums. Islamabad is expected to maintain its emphasis on UN resolutions and the disputed status of Kashmir, while any additional Indian statements on mapping or sovereignty could prompt another formal response from Pakistani authorities.