Ahead of second India-China informal summit, India reaffirms that Kashmir is internal matter

On the eve of the second India-China informal summit, New Delhi has reminded both Islamabad and Beijing that Kashmir is India's internal matter and countries should not comment on it.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, "India’s position has been consistent and clear that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India."

Adding, "China is well aware of our position. It is not for other countries to comment on the internal affairs of India."

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was on a two-day visit to China and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. 

Kashmir was mentioned in the release issued by Pakistan and China on the Xi-Khan talks and was a topic in the joint statement by both countries.

While the Chinese government readout on Xi-Imran talks said that the President supports "Pakistan's legitimate interest in Kashmir... and parties should resolve the dispute via peaceful dialogue", Pakistani readout was stronger and mentioned the "humanitarian crisis in Jammu and Kashmir."

The China-Pakistan joint statement mentioned Kashmir and called for a resolution "based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements" with China opposing "any unilateral actions that complicate the situation."

But China and Pakistan have been making statements critical of Delhi since the revocation of the special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The India-China second informal summit will take place on October 11 and 12, and New Delhi has asserted that Jammu and Kashmir would not be on the agenda since it's India's internal matter.

Government sources said, "Irrespective of which every country we deal with, our position is very clear. The issue of discussing with any country doesn't arise."

Adding, "If the President of China would like to understand, the PM will outline what we have done. On Union Territory of Ladakh, the logic has been explained. Foreign Minister Jaishankar has made our position clear in this regard." 

On Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's ongoing China visit, the source said, "Visit has been decided by Pakistan and China and the matter is not a concern to us... we don't see it as hyphenation if the other side sees it, the Chinese side has to react."