New Pakistan map: Adhir Chowdhury rebukes 'Chinese stooge' Imran Khan, nails appeasement

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Chowdhury on Tuesday castigated Pakistan PM Imran Khan on the new political map released by the latter. Describing Khan as a "stooge of China", he contended that this action was taken at the behest of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Using a cricket analogy, Chowdhury asserted that the 1992 World Cup-winning captain's "reserve swing" would not work in India. 

Mocking Khan further, the Congress leader questioned his silence on the merciless persecution of Uighur Muslims by "communist" China. He argued that the Pakistan PM remained a mute spectator at a juncture when Uighur Muslims are facing genocide. In a veiled reference to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he claimed that Khan had sold Pakistan to China. While maintaining that India has no animosity with the common people of Pakistan, Chowdhury stressed that Khan had waged a "cartographic war" for appeasement politics.

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Pakistan's new political map unveiled

Earlier in the day, Khan unveiled Pakistan's new political map ahead of the first anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir's special status revocation. In a marked departure from its claim that Jammu and Kashmir is "disputed territory", this entire Union Territory along with the Union Territory of Ladakh has been incorporated in the map. Moreover, Pakistan has claimed sovereignty over Siachen by extending the Line of Control to the Karakoram Pass.

The neighbouring country also specified that its international border lies along the eastern bank of Sir Creek, which was previously shown as the western bank. However, the part of the Kashmir and Ladakh border with China was not marked and described as 'Frontier Undecided'. In another incredulous development, Pakistan incorporated parts of Gujarat such as Junagadh and Manavdar in its political map.

Read: Pakistan Approves Sham New Political Map With Parts Of India's J&K, Ladakh & Gujarat

India issues statement

Reacting to Pakistan's latest misadventure, the Centre termed it as an exercise in "political absurdity". It stated that Pakistan's ridiculous assertions had no legal validity. According to the Union government, this was proof of Pakistan's obsession with territorial aggrandizement. 

In a statement, the Central government said, "We have seen a so-called 'political map' of Pakistan that has been released by PM Imran Khan. This is an exercise in political absurdity, laying untenable claims to territories in the Indian state of Gujarat and our union territories of Jammu Kashmir and of Ladakh. These ridiculous assertions have neither legal validity nor international credibility. In fact, this new effort only confirms the reality of Pakistan's obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism."

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