Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday expressed “serious concern” to the United Nations about the draft of India’s Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, ANI reported. The draft Bill allows for a fine of between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 100 crore to be imposed and seven years in jail to anyone whose depiction of India on a map does not match the Indian government’s approved version.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the Bill will penalise those who depict Jammu and Kashmir as disputed territory according to the United Nation’s resolutions. Pakistan also asked the UN to urge India to stops acts that are a “violation of international laws”, PTI reported, and added, “The official map of India has been depicting the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India which is factually incorrect and legally untenable.”
However, a few hours later, India's Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, "Pakistan or any other party has no locus standi in our internal legislative matter."
The draft Bill comes amid criticism for websites that have shown conflict-ridden areas like Kashmir as part of another country. The new legislation will also make it compulsory for companies or individuals, such as Google, to obtain a licence from the government before producing a map for public use.
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