Political...

The boundary of Himachal Pradesh is depicted as the international border.

In a nod to China’s sensitivities, the map does not depict the Ladakh region, with a legend stating “frontier undefined”. An annotation on the map states the boundary in this area will be decided by “sovereign authorities concerned after the final settlement of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute”. During the ceremony at which the map was unveiled, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi referred to the India-china border standoff in Ladakh and said Pakistan, too, has a view on the matter.

Qureshi also said the map includes Siachen glacier as part of Pakistan to challenge the region’s “illegal occupation by India”. He further said the map depicts the boundary in the disputed Sri Creek region of Gujarat according to Pakistan’s stated position on the issue to challenge India’s claim.

Khan described the unveiling of map as a “historic” move that he said was backed by his cabinet, the Kashmiri leadership and all of Pakistan’s political parties. “The move reflects the desires of the people of Pakistan and Kashmir and rejects India’s illegal action of August 5 last year,” he said, speaking in Urdu.

The new map will be “used in schools and colleges and internationally” and the “only solution to the Kashmir issue can be found under the UN Security Council resolutions, which clearly give the right to the Kashmiri people to vote on whether to go with Pakistan or India,” Khan said.

The map also depicts the Junagadh and Manavadar region of India’s Gujarat state as part of Pakistan. The nawab of Junagadh had opted to accede to Pakistan in September 1947, before fleeing from India with his family the following month. Junagadh voted overwhelmingly to stay with India in a plebiscite held in the region in 1948. Experts believe Pakistan has no legal ground for claiming the region.

India’s move to nullify Article 370 last year had triggered a strong reaction from Pakistan, with whom India’s ties were then at an all-time low following the standoff over the Pulwama terror attack. It was also opposed by Pakistan’s “iron brother” ally China, which believed it would affect its territorial claims in Ladakh, especially after India included Aksai Chin region in new maps of the union territories.

Pakistan plans to observe August 5 as “Youm-e-istehsal” (day of exploitation) and Khan is scheduled to go to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), to deliver a speech. On Monday, Pakistan’s foreign and defence ministers visited areas along the Line of Control (LOC) to raise the Kashmir issue.

The Pakistani leadership has also attempted to mobilise support for its position on Kashmir from the country’s traditional allies, with only Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assuring Khan and President Arif Alvi of his country’s backing on the issue.

On Tuesday, Khan repeated his allegation that India is “trying to settle people from outside so that Kashmiris become a minority”. He added: “The map is the first step and we will launch a political struggle. We don’t believe in military solutions, we believe in political solutions.”

Qureshi also said the Kashmir Highway in Islamabad has been named the Srinagar Highway. Solidarity walks, photo exhibitions and seminars will also be organised to protest against alleged atrocities in Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

Academic Happymon Jacob, who closely tracks India-pakistan relations, said Islamabad should “stop mouthing the wornout platitude that it supports the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination”.

“It only seeks to wrest Kashmir from India,” he said, adding that making the LOC the international boundary “is the only solution available to either side”. sonnel were not enough to protect the PM in the high-profile event but added that the larger security detail will comprise 400 additional personnel who have tested negative for Covid-19 in the past 48 hours and then been isolated.

“Our aim is that every police personnel that the PM’S eyes fall on, is either a Covid-19 warrior or has been tested in the last 48 hours,” said Kumar. He said that the additional 400 personnel were isolated either at their own homes or a quarantine centre at the Ram Janambhoomi site. While 300 of those police personnel were administered Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (or RT-PCR) tests, the rest were given rapid antigen tests.

The decision came a day after a second priest at the existing makeshift Ram temple tested positive for Covid-19 and authorities expressed concern that local residents were flouting social distancing guidelines. Last week, a junior priest and four other personnel were found to be infected with the virus that has claimed 1,800 lives in the state.

To combat the threat of the infection, authorities have decided on a strict protocol that includes testing all guests, enforcing wearing of masks and sealing the district borders so that people from outside cannot gather at the site. The government has also appealed to local residents to remain at home and follow the event on television.

”We are confident now that no one will be infected because we have tested anyone who will come within eight feet of a VIP,” said district magistrate Anuj Jha, who is also a member of the temple trust.

Jha added that even people who put up the tents where the event will happen and the drivers of motorcades have been tested and found negative. ”Everyone will wear a mask, everyone will maintain social distancing and it’s going to be fine,” he said.

People who have recovered from Covid-19 have increased immunity against reinfection because antibodies develop in their bodies that protect them in the event of any future exposure to the Sars-cov-2 virus, at least temporarily.