Right from day one, India has been opposing the CPEC and the BRI. CPEC is a part of China’s BRI and the projects in CPEC run through Indian territory currently Illegally occupied by Pakistan and called Pakistan Occupied Territory. POK is part of undivided Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral part of India.
India has now raised the issue of Pakistan and China violating India’s territorial integrity at the 39th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Shri Virander Paul, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to UN in Geneva on Friday brought to the attention of the Council the issue of an intervention made by Pakistan mentioning “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” (CPEC) during a discussion on ‘Report of the Working Group on the Right to Development’.
Shri Paul said that such an intervention went against the principles enshrined in UNGA Resolution 41/128. “Regarding the so-called ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’, which is being projected as the flagship project of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI), the international community is well aware of India’s position. No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity”, he said.
Reaffirming India’s commitment to the implementation of the ‘Right to Development’, the Indian diplomat said, “India shares the international community’s desire for enhancing physical connectivity and believes that it should bring greater economic benefits to all in an equitable and balanced manner.”
Earlier, the representative of Pakistan spoke of that country’s multifaceted approach towards development, including structural reforms, investment-friendly policies and social safety nets for the vulnerable.
CPEC, according to the Pakistani representative, is a “key” regional initiative for connectivity and the shared prosperity of nations and was a practical example of the realization of the right to development by fuelling economic growth in the region.
The representative tried to highlight that similar regional projects could promote international cooperation for development and operationalize the right to development.
