India and Pakistan Clash Over Kashmir Claims Following UN Map Vote

New delhi: Pakistans Foreign Office on Monday rejected Indias position on Kashmirs status, after New Delhi invoked the disputed territory while commenting on a newly adopted UN resolution on map projections. According to Deutsche Welle, the dispute comes after Fridays UN General Assembly vote backed "Correct the Map," an African-led resolution promoting more accurate cartographic representations that shrink Europe and North America while enlarging Africa. India was among 164 countries voting in favor. Later, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Indias support did not endorse any specific map or boundary depiction, adding that Indias "sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with Indias official map," calling deviations "unacceptable." Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full but rule it in part, creating a decadeslong flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistans Foreign Office sp okesperson Sajjad Haider Khan responded Monday, saying Pakistan "categorically rejects Indias baseless assertions" on Kashmir, according to Pakistans Dawn newspaper. He said Indias "illegal occupation cannot alter the internationally recognized disputed status" of the territory, calling it one of the UN Security Councils oldest unresolved disputes requiring resolution through "a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices." The US, the sole nation to vote against the UN resolution, separately criticized the map, saying such moves are "the reason this institution is losing its credibility."