Indian Ministry of External Affairs: A statement has come out from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. The statement said that India has taken seriously the visit of a British Foreign Ministry official to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on January 10, 2024. This step of Jane Marriott is against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
The Foreign Secretary has lodged a strong protest on this with the British High Commissioner in India. Actually, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is on a British tour. On Wednesday (January 10), he met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at his PM House, 10 Downing Street. At the same time, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott present in Pakistan also visited Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Questions raised on the PoK tour
After the visit of British High Commissioner Jane Marriott to PoK, many questions are being raised about whether the British High Commissioner really visited the part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir of her own free will, or whether the British PM Rishi Sunak government was behind this visit. Approval was given, who himself is the first Hindu Prime Minister in the history of Britain. It is considered controversial for diplomats from any country in the world to visit PoK.
India has always said in strong words that Pakistan is illegally occupying Kashmir. In such a situation, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott visited PoK at a time when the Defense Minister of India was on a tour of Britain. During this period, Marriott also met many government officials. Marriott says that 70% of British Pakistanis have roots in Mirpur, so it was important for them to work closely with the interests of expatriates.
Demand for action against the British Ambassador: There
is a lot of anger among Indians against the British Ambassador on social media. A large number of users have also demanded British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action against Jane Marriott. On this matter, India has expressed its strong objection to Britain on this issue, calling it a gross violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Let us tell you that a similar incident took place in October 2023, when US Ambassador to Pakistan David Blom visited Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Even then, the central government raised the issue with US officials and reiterated that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir is an “integral part of India”.