Pakistan asserted on Thursday that Jinnah House in Mumbai belonged to it and any attempt by India to take the building under its control will not be accepted, days after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said her ministry is in the process of getting the bungalow transferred in its name.
The sea-facing bungalow on Malabar Hill in Mumbai was designed by architect Claude Batley in European style and Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah lived there in the late 1930s. Pakistan had demanded in recent years that the property should be handed over to it for housing its Mumbai consulate.
"We have a claim over it (Jinnah House) and we do not accept that anyone tries to take custody of it. They (Indians) have already accepted that it belongs to Pakistan. We have record of it. They (Indians) have accepted that it belong to Pakistan," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal told reporters here.
Asked if Pakistan would consider to hand over Kartarpur land to India in a swap deal, Faisal said: "Absolutely notIt is gesture for Sikh minority community made on their request to provide a visa free corridor to facilitate visit to a religious shrine."
The letter, dated December 5, further said, "We are in the process of transferring the ownership in our name."
Responding to a question about media reports regarding support sought by the Khalistan movement from Pakistan, Faisal said, "Please note it and register it with youPakistan does not interfere in internal affairs of any country."
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