J&K integral part of India: MEA

New Delhi: India on Thursday said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of it and no amount of questioning can change the reality, an assertion that came following a letter by the Pakistan foreign minister to two top UN officials alleging a design by New Delhi to change the demographic structure of the region.

Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Arindam Bagchi also said that no amount of justification can make cross-border terrorism acceptable.

"The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. No amount of questioning can change the reality. Also cross border terrorism is unacceptable and no amount of justification can make it acceptable," he said at a media briefing.

Bagchi was asked to comment on Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's latest letter to the president of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Secretary-General.

In the letter, Qureshi alleged that India was changing the demographic structure of Kashmir through the issuance of fake domicile certificates and other measures.

He urged the UN Security Council to call upon India to reverse its actions, including those initiated on and after August 5, 2019.

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks on an Indian Army camp in Uri further deteriorated the relationship.

Since then, India has not been having bilateral talks with Pakistan, saying talks and terror cannot go hand-in-hand.

The relationship further dipped after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

The relationship hit rock bottom after India announced withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and bifurcating the state into two union territories in August 2019.

Since then, Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to rally international support against India on the Kashmir issue.

India has been maintaining that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.

MEA also said that India and Pakistan have cleared all pending assignment visas.

"These are routine administrative matters. I understand both sides cleared all pending assignment visas yesterday," Bagchi said.

India has also asked Pakistan to address the "shortcomings" in a bill brought out to facilitate reviewing the case of Indian death row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav, saying the proposed law does not create a mechanism to reconsider it as mandated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Bagchi criticised the provision in the bill to invite municipal courts to decide whether any prejudice has been caused to Jadhav by Pakistan on account of its failure to provide consular access in accordance the verdict of the ICJ.

He said the Review and Reconsideration Bill 2020 does not create a mechanism to facilitate effective review and reconsideration of Jadhav's case as mandated by the judgement of the ICJ, adding municipal courts cannot be the arbiter of whether a state has fulfilled its obligations in international law.

India on Thursday also said early completion of the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh could pave the way for both Indian and Chinese troops to consider de-escalation and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Bagchi said such a step could enable progress in bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Early completion of disengagement in the remaining areas could pave the way for both sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity, and thereby enabling progress in bilateral relations," he said replying to a question.

The 11th round of Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides was held on April 9 while the last edition of diplomatic negotiations under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs took place on March 12.

It is learnt that another round of WMCC talks could take place soon.

India and China were locked in a military standoff at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh since early May last year. However, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks.

The two sides are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points.