India rebuffs Pak over Qureshi's remarks on J-K, says cross-border terrorism is unacceptable

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, the government on Thursday said that no amount of questioning can change the reality that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and noted that cross-border terrorism is unacceptable.

Answering questions at a regular media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that "no amount of justification can make terrorism acceptable." "Look I will only say that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. No amount of questioning can change this reality. Also, cross border terrorism is unacceptable and no amount of justification can make it acceptable," he said.

Bagchi was responding to a media query about reports that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has written to the UNSC President and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Geo News, Qureshi claimed in his letter that there are reports indicating India may be contemplating the imposition of further "illegal and unilateral measures" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The letter said that Pakistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbours, including India, but that "the onus is on India to create an enabling environment for result-oriented engagement with Pakistan".

India has repeatedly said that talks and cross-border terrorism cannot go together. Bagchi also said that India and Pakistan have cleared all pending assignment visas on Wednesday.

( With inputs from ANI )