NEW DELHI: India said on Thursday it has conveyed to the US its concerns over a recent visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the US ambassador to Islamabad and urged the world community to respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Donald Blome, the US ambassador to Pakistan, made a multi-day visit to Gilgit-Baltistan last month. He toured different parts of the strategic region that India says is part of undivided Jammu and Kashmir, and met several officials, including a minister and the deputy speaker of the local assembly.
Asked about Blome’s visit to Gilgit-Baltistan at a regular media briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US ambassador to Pakistan with the US side.”
He added, “Our position on the status of the entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, that being an integral part of India, is well known. We would urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
When Eric Garcetti, the US envoy to India, was asked by Indian reporters to comment on Blome’s visit, he had said that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved by New Delhi and Islamabad. However, Garcetti had also pointed out that Blome had visited PoK in the past and that a US delegation had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir for G20-related meetings.
{{/usCountry}}When Eric Garcetti, the US envoy to India, was asked by Indian reporters to comment on Blome’s visit, he had said that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved by New Delhi and Islamabad. However, Garcetti had also pointed out that Blome had visited PoK in the past and that a US delegation had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir for G20-related meetings.
{{/usCountry}}Bagchi responded to Garcetti’s comments by saying: “We don’t think the two situations are equivalent.”
In October last year, India had formally protested to the US after Blome visited PoK and repeatedly referred to the region as “Azad” or independent Jammu and Kashmir.