Pakistan and China activate joint boundary commission

Pakistan and China have operationalised a joint boundary commission to manage their shared border, conduct surveys, and coordinate trade and connectivity, prompting immediate objection from India. According to the BBC and Indian outlets including Outlook India and Zee News, New Delhi has rejected the commission's legal basis, citing the Shaksgam Valley and the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement.

A Pakistan-focused outlet, The Daily CPEC, reported that the commission has become operational for border management, surveys, trade and connectivity. Details of its mandate and composition were not immediately available in the initial reports. The move follows the existing boundary agreement between Islamabad and Beijing.

India's objection centres on Shaksgam Valley. Zee News reported that under the 1963 agreement Pakistan transferred the Shaksgam Valley to China, and that India has never recognised that agreement. Outlook India described the new body as a so-called boundary commission and said India questions its legal basis. India maintains that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, including Gilgit-Baltistan, is its territory and rejects Pakistan's authority to make border agreements.

The BBC reported that the new pact has irked India, linking the reaction to the longstanding dispute over the territory. Pakistan and China maintain that their bilateral boundary arrangements are legitimate and do not affect third parties. There was no immediate official comment from Pakistan's Foreign Office or China's foreign ministry in the reports reviewed.

The Shaksgam Valley lies in Gilgit-Baltistan, near the Karakoram range. The 1963 agreement defined the boundary between China and the then Pakistan-administered territory. India's rejection is consistent with its position that the entire Kashmir region, including Gilgit-Baltistan, is Indian territory and that Pakistan has no authority to cede any part of it.