By Kalsang Rinchen
Dharamsala, September 3: In a major setback to India, China Thursday said it will continue to issue stapled visas to Indians holding passport from the state that it recently called “disputed” and denied visa for a top Indian army official serving in the state. “About our visa policy towards the inhabitants of India-controlled Kashmir region, our policy is consistent and has remained unchanged,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
According to CNN IBN, a leading national TV channel of India, China has referred to Kashmir as “India Occupied Kashmir” sending strong signals to New Delhi that it considers Kashmir a “disputed” territory. Meanwhile, New Delhi is considering issuing stapled visas for applicants from Tibet and those from areas conceded to China by Pakistan if China persists with stapled visas.
China said the Kashmir issue is to be resolved mutually between India and Pakistan. Jiang Yu said that Kashmir is an issue “left over from history” between India and Pakistan. “As a neighbour and friend of neighbour countries, China believes this issue should be left to the two countries and should be properly handled through dialogue and consultations.”
China also denied the presence of its troops in Gilgit-Baltistan as reported by a New York Times article dismissing the report as “groundless”. Jiang said such reports were being put out with “ulterior motives” to hurt Beijing’s ties with New Delhi and Islamabad. “We believe the attempts of some people to fabricate stories to provoke China-Pakistan or China-India relations are doomed to fail.”
Earlier today, India conveyed its concerns to China over its presence in Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and its activities in that region through its Ambassador to China S Jaishankar during a meeting with Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Zhang Zhijun in Beijing today.
