India on Sunday firmly rejected attempts by Pakistan to bring changes to a part of the Indian territory, under its illegal and forcible occupation. This move comes in the backdrop of Pakistan’s move to grant provisional provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan. India further called upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation.

“Govt of India firmly rejects attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian territory, under its illegal & forcible occupation. I reiterate Union Territories of J&K, and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan, is an integral part of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947,” news agency ANI quoted Anurag Srivastava, MEA spokesperson, as saying.

Srivastava further added: “The Government of Pakistan has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it.

“Instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories, we call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” Srivastava said.

“Such attempts, intended to camouflage Pak’s illegal occupation, can’t hide grave human rights violations & denial of freedom for over 7 decades to people residing in these Pak occupied territories,” MEA spokesperson on Pakistan PM Imran Khan announcing ‘provisional provincial status’ to ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’.

Earlier on October 29, India conveyed its serious concern to Saudi Arabia over ‘gross misrepresentation’ of its external territorial boundaries in a banknote issued by the Gulf nation last week, and asked it to take ‘urgent corrective steps’.

Srivastava had said: “I would like to further reiterate that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India.”

According to a PTI report, the map does not even depict Pakistan-occupied- Kashmir, including Gilgit-Baltistan, as part of Pakistani territory.

Pakistan considers Saudi Arabia as a key ally, and exclusion of the PoK from the map of Pakistan is seen by many in Islamabad as a major snub to the country.