Govt clears stand on Arunachal, Ladakh

New Delhi, Mar 13: Entire geographical areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are the inseparable parts of India, the Central Government reiterated in the Parliament on Thursday noting that 38,000 sq. km of Ladakh was still under the illegal occupation of China..

Responding to a written question in the Lok Sabha MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan urged Pakistan to desist from making attempts to bring any “material change” in J & K and Ladakh.

“China disputes the international boundary between India and China. In the eastern sector, China claims approximately 90,000 sq km of Indian territory in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Indian territory under the occupation of China in the Union Territory of Ladakh is approximately 38,000 sq km,’’ the minister said.

The minister further said that Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km Indian territory in Pak-Occupied Kashmir to China under the ‘so-called boundary agreement’ signed by China and Pakistan on March 2, 1963 months after the Indo-China war of 1962.

“India’s consistent and principled position is that Arunachal Pradesh and the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall be an integral part of India. This fact has been clearly conveyed to the Chinese side on several occasions,” the minister said.

Replying to a separate query, Muraleedharan said the government was monitoring all developments taking place in Indian territories, including in territories under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation.

“We have consistently called upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal and forcible occupation, and to put an end to human rights violations and desist from continued attempts to bring material change in these territories,’’ he said.

The minister was replying to a query seeking to know what the government was doing to realize the 1994 Parliament resolution on PoK.

“Government’s consistent and principled position, as also enunciated in the Parliament resolution adopted unanimously by both Houses on February 22, 1994, is that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall be an integral part of India,’’ Muraleedharan said.