"Unacceptable, Highly Objectionable": India Takes 'Serious Note' Of British High Commissioner's Visit To Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday (13 January) said that it has taken "serious note" of the "highly objectionable" visit of British High Commissioner in Islamabad to the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

This comes as British High Commissioner in Pakistan, Jane Marriott, visited the PoK on Wednesday (10 January).

Marriot, who assumed charge in July 2023, visited PoK's Mirpur, which she said was the heart of the people of the UK and Pakistan, as nearly 70 per cent of British-Pakistanis have roots in Mirpur, which made their working together crucial for diaspora interests.

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"India has taken a serious note of the highly objectionable visit of the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, along with a UK Foreign Office official, to Pakistan occupied Kashmir on 10 January 2024," the MEA said in a statement on Saturday.

"Such infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable," the ministry added.

The MEA said that India's Foreign Secretary has lodged a strong protest with the British High Commissioner in India on this infringement.

"The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are, have been and shall always remain an integral part of India," the ministry said.

Earlier last year, India had expressed its disapproval when the US Ambassador to Pakistan had made a similar trip to PoK.

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