*ISLAMABAD: *Islamabad has ruled out any plan to merge Azad Jammu Kashmir(AJK) with rest of the country in response to New Delhi’s illegal andunconstitutional annexation of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK) in Augustlast year.
“There is no such proposal under consideration [to merge AJK],” ForeignOffice spokesperson Aisha Farooqui told reporters at a weekly briefing onThursday. She was asked to comment on some reports that at a recenthigh-level meeting, a proposal was taken up to merge the AJK with Pakistan.
India on August 5, 2019 illegally annexed the occupied part of the disputedHimalayan region by revoking Article 370 of its Constitution that gavespecial status to the IOK.
Pakistan lodged a strong protest against what it described as an illegaland unilateral action and moved the United Nations, whose Security Council(UNSC) has taken up the issue twice in the last 5 months.
Read Top Stories
Since August 5, IOK has been under a lockdown with thousands of politicalleaders and workers under detention.
Despite widespread condemnation of the Indian move the world over, NewDelhi is not lifting restrictions imposed on more than 8 million Kashmiris.
