BEIJING: While responding to the concern of India over the project in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Chinese government on Thursday suggested that the disputed issue of PoK was a matter for India and Pakistan to resolve. China says that for this reason they are not going to change their policies on Kashmir.

India asked China on Wednesday to “cease activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan.” On Tuesday the Chinese President Hu Jintao made commitment to the Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Beijing that they would continue to provide assistance in the upgradation of the Karakoram Highway and in building the Neelam-Jhelum hydroelectric project in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

A spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry said to the media that the issue of Kashmir had to be settled “between India and Pakistan.” He further added that China’s position had been “consistent.”

The spokesperson said: “The Kashmir issue is a matter left over from history. It should be settled properly through dialogue and consultation between India and Pakistan, and China’s position has been consistent.”
The presence of China in the PoK has grown in recent years and they have been involved recently in several infrastructure projects in the disputed region.

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