Monday, September 24, 2007
Pakistan upset over India-UK war game in Kashmir
Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:52am BST, Reuters
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - High-altitude military exercises by India and Britain in mountains in the disputed Kashmir region are not legal, Pakistan said on Monday.
British and Indian forces are carrying out a three-week exercise in the Ladakh area of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, at the heart of decades of hostility and the cause of two of the three wars the nuclear-armed neighbours have fought.
Pakistan had lodged a protest with both India and Britain over the exercises, which were not a "legal activity", Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
"Ladakh is part of Jammu and Kashmir, (which) is an internationally recognised disputed territory and more than anybody else, Britain should be aware of it," Aslam told a weekly news conference.
Last week, Pakistan lodged a protest with India over a plan to open the Siachen Glacier, also in the Kashmir region, to tourist trekkers. The two sides have faced off across the glacier, known as the word's highest battlefield, since 1984.
The South Asian neighbours began a peace process in early 2004 after going to the brink of their fourth war in 2002.
The talks have led to an improvement in sporting, transport and diplomatic links, but there has been no substantial progress on Muslim-majority Kashmir. ¶ 1:02 PM
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - High-altitude military exercises by India and Britain in mountains in the disputed Kashmir region are not legal, Pakistan said on Monday.
British and Indian forces are carrying out a three-week exercise in the Ladakh area of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, at the heart of decades of hostility and the cause of two of the three wars the nuclear-armed neighbours have fought.
Pakistan had lodged a protest with both India and Britain over the exercises, which were not a "legal activity", Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
"Ladakh is part of Jammu and Kashmir, (which) is an internationally recognised disputed territory and more than anybody else, Britain should be aware of it," Aslam told a weekly news conference.
Last week, Pakistan lodged a protest with India over a plan to open the Siachen Glacier, also in the Kashmir region, to tourist trekkers. The two sides have faced off across the glacier, known as the word's highest battlefield, since 1984.
The South Asian neighbours began a peace process in early 2004 after going to the brink of their fourth war in 2002.
The talks have led to an improvement in sporting, transport and diplomatic links, but there has been no substantial progress on Muslim-majority Kashmir. ¶ 1:02 PM
