China has slammed India for according Ladakh the status of Union Territory following the decision to deny special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked to comment on reports that India had announced establishment of “Ladakh central territory,” which covers territory of the western section of the Sino-Indian border, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chuying on Tuesday said: “China has always opposed the Indian side’s entry of the Chinese territory in the western section of the Sino-Indian border into the administrative jurisdiction of India.”
She added: “This position is firm and consistent and has never changed. Recently, the Indian side has continued to damage China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally modifying the form of domestic law. This practice is unacceptable and will not have any effect.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged India “to be cautious on the border issue, strictly abide by the relevant agreements reached between the two sides, and avoid taking actions that further complicate the border issue.”
Chuying added that India and Pakistan, which both claim the Himalayan region in its entirety, should practice restraint and avoid taking unilateral action to “change the status quo and escalate tensions.”
India, on the other hand, has slammed China for commenting on internal affairs of India. "The J&K Reorganization Bill 2019 which proposes the formation of a new “UT of Ladakh” is an internal matter concerning the territory of India. India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise," Spokesperson at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said.
Indian lower house of Parliament on Tuesday ratified a bill presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government to revoke a longstanding constitutional provision that made Kashmir exempt from some Indian laws and gave its residents hereditary rights to land, educational scholarships and public sector jobs within the region.
An indefinite security clampdown continued in the Kashmir Valley, where about 7 million people were blocked from cellphone, internet and landline networks.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, meanwhile, has asked the world community to take notice of Indian moves to change the status of disputed Kashmir, saying Islamabad and New Delhi could go to war if India repeats a military strike inside his country.
Khan said he fears that Kashmiri people, angered over India’s decision to strip the region of its special status, could launch an attack on Indian security forces and that New Delhi could blame Pakistan for it. Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both.
Khan made his remarks Tuesday in a speech to parliament.
In February, a bomb attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed 40 Indian troops. India responded with an airstrike inside Pakistan, blaming a Pakistani group for the attack.
Pakistan retaliated and said it shot down two Indian air force planes.
