India Slams Pakistan For Falsely Showing J-K, Ladakh, Junagadh In Its New Map; Terms It 'Obsession with Territorial Aggrandisement'

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".

Imran Khan and Narendra Modi

The simmering tensions and ever growing fault lines in the diplomatic relations between South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan further got infuriated as New Delhi on Tuesday came out hard against Imran Khan-led Pakistan government and condemned it over the release of its new political map which shows Indian territories as its own, and labelled it "an exercise in political absurdity". 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". It is notable that Imran Khan govt's release of a new Pakistani map which includes the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh in Gujarat and Sir Creek as Pakistan's territories came a day ahead of the first anniversary of Article 370's abrogation in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw the Indian parliament putting an end to the Special Status enjoyed by the erstwhile state for almost 7 decades.. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "We have seen a so-called 'political map' of Pakistan that has been released by Prime Minister Imran Khan. This is an exercise in political absurdity, laying untenable claims to territories in the Indian state of Gujarat and our Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh." The MEA added, "These ridiculous assertions have neither legal validity nor international credibility. In fact, this new effort only confirms the reality of Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandisement supported by cross-border terrorism." While Imran Khan might be looking to gain political mileage within the nation with the release of the new map, the same map was issued in 2012 by the Pakistan government. The only new addition made to the one released in 2012 in the "new political map of Pakistan" is Sir Creek in Kutch region. The Imran Khan government has planned several moves ahead of the first anniversary of the removal of special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Unveiling the map, Khan called it a historic day in Pakistan’s history, according to Pakistani media Tribune. He also said that for the first time ever, Pakistan has launched a political map which shows the entire Kashmir region as its territory, reported Tribune. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that plebiscite should be held in Kashmir region under the watch of UN to determine the future of the disputed territory, Tribune reported.