New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday lashed out at Pakistan for raising objections to India’s proposed Geospatial Bill, saying Islamabad has no right to comment on the internal matters of New Delhi.
“It is a right of our nation to make our own laws. It was very important for India to propose the Geospatial Bill because every publication used to create a different map of our country,” BJP leader Shrikant Sharma told ANI.
“Pakistan has no right to comment on the internal matters of India. Who is Pakistan to raise objections or to comment on this?” he added.
India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s repeated and increasing attempts to impose on the international community matters that India wants to address bilaterally with Pakistan.
Responding to media query on Pakistan Foreign Office reaction on India’s Geospatial Bill, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the proposed bill is an entirely an internal legislative matter of India as Jammu and Kashmir is its integral part.
Pakistan has expressed serious concern over India’s efforts to pass the controversial Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, which aims to restrict geographical depictions of India and disputed Kashmir to the UN Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Zakaria asserted that with the passage of the Bill, New Delhi would be able to penalise the individuals and organisations that depict Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as a disputed territory in accordance with UNSC resolutions.
Although, New Delhi already imposes tight restrictions on maps but if it becomes law, it would impose specific penalties for the first time.
In a letter sent to the UN in this regard by Pakistan’s permanent representative in New York, Islamabad calls on the body to uphold the UNSC resolutions and urged India to stop acts that are in violation of international law.
Islamabad has also urged the international community and the UN to fulfill their commitment to the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir by holding an independent and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices. (ANI)