New Delhi: In a move designed to block Prime Minister Imran Khan’s scholarship scheme for 1,600 students from Kashmiris every year, the medical council of India (MCI) has declared qualification obtained from medical colleges located in Pakistan Occupied Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL) ineligible.

ALSO READ | WATCH | Pakistan Man Publicly Thrashed, Arrested For Mocking Imran Khan Over Including Kashmir In New Map, Video Viral

In an order issued by MCI Secretary-General Dr R K Vats on Monday, it has been stated any qualification obtained from the medical institution in PoJKL shall not be considered for permitting a person for practicing in India.

The official public notice read: "This is to inform all concerned that the entire territories of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India. Pakistan is in the illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the territory."

"Accordingly, any medical institution in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (PoJKL) requires permission/recognition under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Such permission has not been granted to any medical college in POJKL," the official notice said.

It went on to say that any qualification obtained from medical colleges located within these illegally occupied areas of India shall not entitle a person for grant of registration under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 to practice modern medicine in India.

ALSO READ | Jammu & Kashmir: One Terrorist Killed, Two Injured As Army Foils Infiltration Bid In Poonch; Arms, Pakistani Eatables Seized

The move has come a few days after the Imran Khan-led Cabinet approved a new political map which includes the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh in Gujarat and Sir Creek. As per the new map approved by the Pakistan cabinet, the new political map claims certain territories of Jammu and Kashmir as belonging to Pakistan.

India reacted sharply to the development and stated that the ridiculous assertions made by the neighbouring country have neither legal validity nor international credibility. India lashed out at Pakistan by terming the new release of wrongly shown Indian territories in their map as "ridiculous assertions" which neither have "legal validity nor international credibility".

WATCH | Janmashtami 2020: Muslim families make Lord Krishna's poshaak