NEW DELHI – Days after Pakistan passed the Amendment to “Azad Jammu andKashmir Constitution Act 2018″, India on Monday put forward a strong-wordedstatement protesting against it. Lodging a “strong protest”, India askedits neighbour nation to vacate all areas it occupies in Kashmir.

“The government of India has conveyed a strong protest through diplomaticchannel today against the `Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution(13th Amendment) Act 2018`. It was clearly conveyed that the entire stateof Jammu and Kashmir, which also includes the `Azad Jammu and Kashmir` isan integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947,” the Ministryof External Affairs said in a statement.

“Any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under forcibleand illegal occupation of Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever, and iscompletely unacceptable. Instead of seeking to alter the status of theoccupied territories, Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas underits illegal occupation,” said the statement.

On Friday, June 1, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-dominated jointsitting of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the AzadJammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council approved the amendments to the AJKConstitution.

Through its order on Gilgit-Baltistan on May 21, former Pakistan PrimeMinister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi seized more authority from the local councilto deal with the affairs of the region. India has strongly protestedagainst Islamabad’s move relating to administrative authority over theGilgit-Baltistan region.

New Delhi in April 2018 had summoned Pakistan’s Deputy High CommissionerSyed Haider Shah over the same and said that any action to alter the statusof any part of the territory under its “forcible and illegal occupation”has no legal basis.

The Azad Kashmir has its own President and Prime Minister.