This 5180 square-kilometre Indian territory was illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963, noted the hindustantimes.com and other reports May 3. Besides, road could be part of an alignment that links Karakoram Highway to Upper Shaksgam Valley, bordering the Siachen Glacier. India’s ministry of external affairs (MEA) said India has never accepted the so-called China Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China, and India has consistently conveyed its rejection of the same, noted the timesofindia.com May 3. India maintains that under the 1963 agreement, Pakistan illegally ceded to China 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in Shaksgam Valley from areas illegally occupied by it in the Union Territory of Ladakh. India is stated to have been raising the issue of Shaksgam Valley in the Special Representative Dialogue on Boundary Resolution, the last of which was held in Dec 2019.

Source: Hindustan Times May 04, 2024 00:30 UTC