‘Unacceptable’: India strongly protests British envoy’s PoK visit in Pakistan

India on Saturday lodged a strong protest with the UK over a visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the British envoy to Islamabad, saying it amounted to an “unacceptable” infringement of the country’s territorial integrity.

Jane Marriott, the British envoy in Pakistan, travelled to Mirpur in PoK on January 10 and held several meetings with businesspeople, members of the local community and government officials.

The external affairs ministry said in a statement that the Indian side has taken “serious note of the highly objectionable visit” by Marriott and a UK Foreign Office official to PoK.

“Such infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unacceptable,” the statement said.

Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra lodged a strong protest with Alex Ellis, the British high commissioner in India, on this infringement.

“The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are, have been and shall always remain an integral part of India,” the statement added.

Marriott, who became the first woman British envoy to Pakistan in July 2023, had posted on X about the visit. “Salaam from Mirpur, the heart of the UK and Pakistan’s people to people ties! 70% of British Pakistani roots are from Mirpur, making our work together crucial for diaspora interests. Thank you for your hospitality!” the post said.

The UK high commission in Islamabad posted a brief video on X that showed Marriott visiting a business enterprise in Mirpur and interacting with a street children’s football team. The video also showed her interacting with Mirpur’s district management and the local chamber of commerce.

Mirpur has a sizeable number of people who hold dual British and Pakistani citizenship. Remittances from British Pakistanis have also strengthened the economy of Mirpur and British nationals play a prominent role in the area as business and community leaders.

India has traditionally bristled at visits to PoK by foreign diplomats, especially those from friendly countries such as the US and the UK.

In October last year, India conveyed its concerns to the US after Donald Blome, the US ambassador to Pakistan, visited Gilgit-Baltistan in PoK. At the time, New Delhi had urged the world community to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

India also protested to the US in October 2022 when Blome made another visit to PoK and repeatedly referred to the region as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)”.

The Indian side had also criticised a visit to PoK in April 2022 by US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as “condemnable”. India had accused Omar of violating the country’s sovereignty by travelling to a region illegally occupied by Pakistan.