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- India reiterated its opposition to a proposed luxury bus service between Pakistan and China that would pass through parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan — territory that India claims — terming it “a violation of India’s sovereignty.
- While China asserted that the bus service from Lahore to Tashkurgan in Xinjiang — timed to begin when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting Beijing.
- Pakistan dismissed India’s objections as “frivolous”.
- “As for the bus service, I have not heard of the relevant information and I have not heard of complaints,” Lu Kang, China’s foreign minis- try spokesperson, said at the ministry’s regular briefing, when asked about India’
- Mr. Lu stressed that the CPEC was an “economic pro- ject”, and did not reflect China’s position on Kashmir.
- “It is an economic cooperation project between China and Pakistan and not targeted at any third party. It has nothing to do with the territorial dispute and it will not affect China’s principled position on the issue of Kashmir,”
- India has consistently opposed the 1963 “ChinaPakis- tan Boundary Agreement” that recognises PoK as under “actual Pakistani control” without prejudicing a final dispute resolution with India, and India has protested the Karakoram Highway on which traffic has been plying regularly, as well as subsequent infrastructure projects built by China in the disputed area.
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