Leh: Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta on Tuesday outrightly rejected China's requirement over the Shaksgam Valley, stating that the unshortened region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India. He moreover made it well-spoken that any expansionist attempts would not be tolerated.
What did the Ladakh Lieutenant Governor say?
Criticizing China for starting construction projects in the Shaksgam Valley, Gupta said that the zone is part of India and such activities should be stopped immediately. Following India's objections, China on Monday reiterated its territorial claims over the Shaksgam Valley, insisting that the Chinese infrastructure projects in the region are ‘beyond doubt’.
Gupta said that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir moreover want to be a part of India and that Pakistan will soon 'disintegrate itself'.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu, he said, “The whole of Kashmir (including the Pakistan-occupied part) is ours. We don't know what deal Pakistan has struck with China. China should understand that nothing will be gained from its expansionist policy. India is capable. This is not the India of 1962, this is the India of 2026. Any such struggle will be thwarted. The Ministry of External Affairs is taking conversance of this.”
What was Gupta’s warning for China?
Gupta said that any such act would not be tolerated and China must understand that India is far stronger today than before. He moreover mentioned that China had previously personal parts of Arunachal Pradesh as well. Targeting Pakistan, the Governor so-called that the neighboring country has deceived its own people and is engaged in suspicious activities.
What is his stance on Pakistan?
“Pakistan is a country that is stuff sold off. It has no regard for its sovereignty or its people. Voices are stuff raised in Balochistan, Sindh, and Karachi, and atrocities are stuff single-minded there by the Pakistani army. Those areas are virtually under military rule,” Gupta said.
Warning versus provocative statements on sensitive issues, Gupta said that Parliament has a well-spoken stance on PoK.
“Statements that are provocative in nature should not be made. There is a parliamentary resolution from 1994 that unmistakably states that the unshortened PoK belongs to India,” he asserted.
What is opinion of the statement of the Indian Unwashed chief?
Reacting to the Indian Unwashed chief's recent statement in which he said that ‘Operation Sindoor’ is ongoing, Gupta said that the armed forces have well-constructed national support.
“The unshortened country stands with the army. The Unwashed Senior has given a responsible statement, and I welcome it,” he said.
In 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 square kilometers of Indian territory located in the Shaksgam Valley to China, which it had uninventive through illegal occupation.
