‘Vacate Immediately’: India Tells Pakistan After It Operationalises Joint Boundary Commission With China - news18.com

**India Demands Pakistan Withdraw from Disputed Frontier After China‑Pakistan Boundary Panel Is Activated**

New Delhi has lodged a formal protest with Islamabad, urging Pakistan to “vacate immediately” any area it deems occupied in the Shaksgam Valley – a stretch of high‑altitude terrain that India claims as part of the Ladakh region but has been under Chinese control since the 1963 Sino‑Pakistani boundary agreement. The demand follows the inauguration of a joint India‑Pakistan‑China boundary commission, a mechanism launched by Beijing and Islamabad to demarcate their mutual frontier along the Karakoram and Kunhar ranges. India’s Ministry of External Affairs dismissed the panel as “pure theatrics,” insisting that there is “no Pak‑China boundary” in the contested sector and that the move contravenes the long‑standing status‑quo established by the 1963 treaty, which India never recognised.

Indian officials highlighted that the timing of the commission’s activation comes just weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, where both leaders pledged to “respect each other’s sensitivities” on border issues. New Delhi argues that the newly formed panel undermines those assurances and threatens to alter the delicate balance of the region, especially as China continues to solidify its presence in the Siachen‑Shaksgam corridor. The Indian foreign ministry warned that any attempt by Pakistan to alter the on‑ground realities would be met with diplomatic and, if necessary, strategic countermeasures, reaffirming Delhi’s commitment to its territorial integrity.

Pakistan, for its part, defended the commission as a routine technical exercise aimed at “clarifying the Line of Actual Control” and preventing inadvertent incursions. Chinese state media echoed Islamabad’s position, describing the panel as a “constructive step” toward regional stability. However, analysts note that the move could strain the nascent goodwill generated at the BRICS gathering, with observers pointing to a potential recalibration of alliances as India, Pakistan and China navigate overlapping claims in the high Himalayas. The episode underscores the fragility of South Asian border diplomacy, where historical accords, emerging strategic partnerships, and nationalist rhetoric intersect in a geopolitically sensitive theatre.