Pakistan Rejects Indian Foreign Minister’s Remarks on Azad Jammu and Kashmir

March 6, 2025

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly rejected recent remarks made by India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar regarding Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), calling them “baseless claims.”

The FO reiterated its stance that India must vacate the occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir, according to Dawn.Com

The statement came in response to Jaishankar’s comments during a session at the Chatham House think-tank in London on March 5, 2025. While addressing the Kashmir dispute, the Indian minister asserted that the issue would be resolved with the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation.”

“I think the path we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under illegal Pakistani occupation. When that’s done, I assure you, the Kashmir [issue is] solved,” Jaishankar stated in response to a journalist’s query about India’s illegal control over Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

He further claimed that India had already addressed the situation through the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the regional elections held in October 2024. Additionally, he pointed to “restoring growth, economic activity, and social justice” as steps towards resolving the Kashmir dispute.

Pakistan’s Response

During a weekly press briefing, Pakistan foreign ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan dismissed Jaishankar’s statements, emphasizing Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue.

“Instead of making baseless claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir that it has illegally occupied for the past 77 years,” he said .

“We reject the remarks made by the Indian external affairs minister on Jammu and Kashmir during an event held at Chatham House, London, on March 5, 2025,” the spokesperson added.

Pakistan has consistently maintained that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized disputed territory, with its final resolution to be determined in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.