New Delhi: India has lodged a strong protest with China for carrying out construction activities in the Shaksgam valley – a strategically key region that is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in an “illegal” attempt to alter the situation on the ground.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday that the Shaksgam valley is a part of India and New Delhi never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan boundary pact of 1963 through which Islamabad “unlawfully” attempted to cede the area to Beijing. “We have consistently conveyed our rejection of the same. We have registered our protest with the Chinese side against illegal attempts to alter facts on the ground,” Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. “We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests,” he said.