India rejects J-K reference in Pak-Malaysia joint statement

Lashing out at Pakistan, India on Thursday rejected the references to Jammu and Kashmir in a Pakistan-Malaysia joint statement and asked Malaysian leadership to develop a better understanding of the facts including that Islamabad is an epicentre of global terrorism.

"India completely rejects the references made in respect to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India. We once again call upon the Malaysian leadership to develop a better understanding of the facts, including that Pakistan which remains an epicentre of global terrorism, continues to recruit, train, arm and finance cross-border terrorism against India," ministry of external affairs said in a statement.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Malaysia and Pakistan firmly stressed that the question of Palestine situation, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Rohingyas issue should be resolved on the basis of "the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and General Assembly resolutions as well as the UN Charter and the international human rights and humanitarian law".

The statement was released following the conclusion of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's Malaysia's visit on Wednesday.

Khan during a Malaysian think-tank session on regional peace and security in Kuala Lumpur made several provocative remarks and said: "The only solution is that Muslims must come together on something like what is happening in Myanmar and Kashmir when someone is only being persecuted because of their religion," he added.

Ties between India and Malaysia have been strained for the past few months after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made remarks against the Citizenship Amendment Act. India had termed as "factually inaccurate" remarks of Mohamad, stating that the matter was internal to India" and does not impact the status of any citizen.

The External Affairs Ministry had called upon Malaysia to refrain from commenting on internal developments in India, without the right understanding of facts.