Any Bus service through PoK will be a violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, says MEA.

India has raised strong objections over Pakistan-China proposed bus services which will run through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The External Affairs Ministry has criticized the move, terming it as a “violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. India maintains that PoK is Indian territory.

Responding to media queries, MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said: “we have lodged strong protests with China and Pakistan on the proposed bus service”. Mr. Kumar said It has been India’s consistent and well-known position that the “so-called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963 is illegal and invalid, and has never been recognized by the Government of India”.

He further stated that “any such bus service through PoK will be a violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) service will be launched on November 3. According to Radio Pakistan, the bus route will be from Lahore to Kashgar in China. The service will run four days a week from Lahore to Tashkurgan.

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The report reveals that the 30-hour journey will begin from Lahore at midnight followed by stops in Manshera (breakfast), Besham (lunch), Chilas (Tea) and Gilgit (dinner), with checks at Khunjerab Pass.

According to Pakistan government’s official CPEC website, the CPEC is a framework of regional connectivity with the positive impact on neighboring nations Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia Republic, and the region as a whole.

Since the partition in 1947, Kashmir has been torn between three nations, with India controlling the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan governing PoK comprising of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, and China controlling one area – Aksai Chin.