Pakistan’s New Map

Why in news?

Pakistan’s new map asserts its claims on Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, and lays a new claim to Junagadh.

What are Pakistan’s claims?

• Jammu and Kashmir – Pakistan map has claimed to all of Jammu and Kashmir, but not Ladakh.
• This claim goes against its own commitment to adjudicate the future of all six parts of the erstwhile royal state of Jammu-Kashmir with India.
• [Parts of the erstwhile royal state of Jammu-Kashmir - Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK and Aksai Chin]
• The new map draws a line demarcating Gilgit-Baltistan separately from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
• It renamed Jammu and Kashmir as Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
• Siachen and Sir Creek - Both the places were under several discussions between India and Pakistan.
• Pakistan’s unilateral claim over them is not helpful or conducive to future resolution.
• Junagadh - The map has made a new claim over Junagadh, which opens up a completely new dispute.
• Junagadh, a former princely state, was in contention at the time of Partition.
• The issue was successfully resolved after a referendum was conducted there in February 1948.
• In this referendum, an overwhelming 95% of the state’s residents voted to stay with India.
• Junagadh’s accession to India was accepted by Pakistan.
• Ladakh - The new map leaves the claim line with Ladakh unclear.

How did India respond?

• Pakistan’s map appears to have reset several agreements with India that have been concretised over the past 70 years.
• The Ministry of External Affairs has termed Pakistan’s announcement of a new map as an exercise in political absurdity.
• It accused Pakistan of attempting a form of territorial aggrandisement supported by cross-border terrorism.

What is next?

• India should be prepared for Pakistan taking all the issues it has raised with its new map to the international stage.
• Pakistan’s actions come in conjunction with map-related issues India faces today on two other fronts with,
  1. China at the Line of Actual Control on Ladakh, and
  2. Nepal at Kalapani and Limpiyadhura (which Nepal’s government has also issued a new map about).
• All these three countries objected to the map that India had issued in November 2019, albeit for different reasons.
• India must be well-prepared to deal with the three-pronged cartographic challenge it will face in the coming months.

Source: The Hindu