India has no right to make statement on CPEC: FO
Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said CPEC promises socio-economic uplift and regional connectivity.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Categorically rejecting baseless and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian external affairs minister, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that India has no locus standi whatsoever on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The FO spokesperson said this while responding to media queries regarding the statement made by the Indian minister in his Parliament, relating to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Afghanistan situation and the CPEC.
Chaudhri said that regurgitation of false and fabricated claims by India can neither change the facts nor divert attention from India’s illegal occupation and human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized dispute, pending resolution in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the people of Kashmir,” he maintained.
The spokesperson said that India has no locus standi whatsoever on the CPEC, which is a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “It promises socio-economic uplift and regional connectivity. No amount of Indian machinations or propaganda can undermine the significance of CPEC for peace, development and prosperity of the region,” he added.
As for Afghanistan, rather than expressing fake concern for the country, India would be well-advised to stop peddling the delusional ‘contiguous neighbor’ fiction; to remind itself that its role as a ‘spoiler’ in Afghanistan is well-established; and to focus on course correction,” Zahid Hafeez mentioned.
