Pakistan revealed it had “contacted US authorities” after the US Trade Representative’s office shared a map of India that showed the entire Jammu and Kashmir region, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin, an area claimed by China, in Indian territory.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Tahir Andrabi called the map “illegal” and said he was “satisfied to note” that Washington had made the “necessary correction to highlight the legal map of our region approved by the United Nations”.
Andrabi’s comments came after the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) took down a social media post with the map on Wednesday, February 11. Responding to a question during a press conference on Thursday, February 12, he said Islamabad had contacted US authorities.
Last week, the USTR released information on the Indo-US trade deal after New Delhi and Washington announced details of their bilateral interim agreement framework. Along with the details of the agreement, USTR posted a map of India on social media platform X.
What did the map show?
The now-deleted map of India showed the entire Jammu and Kashmir region, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as well as the Aksai Chin area as part of Indian territory.
Both regions remain disputed between India and its neighbours, Pakistan and China, with India claiming both as an integral part of its territory.
How Pakistan responded
Andrabi said the US side made the necessary correction to highlight the “UN-approved legal map of Pakistan”.
“The map was placed using certain mounts. We contacted the US authorities. They realized that the map was incorrect. The international map on J&K, which demarcates Pakistani and Indian territories, is legally approved by the UN. If you go to the UN website, you will see the real map,” Andrabi said.
He added that Pakistan was pleased to note that “the US side has made the necessary correction to highlight the UN-approved legal map of our region, which clearly defines Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory to be settled through a UN-led plebiscite in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions”.
What the previous maps showed
The map differed from earlier versions issued by Washington.
On previous occasions, maps of India showed a demarcated line showing the PoK region and the Aksai Chin. But the USTR map of India showed the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir, including these two areas, as an integral part of India.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. India also claims that Aksai Chin is an integral part of its territory based on historical claims and past treaties.