China rebuffs India, says its policy on J&K visas unchanged

Beijing, Rejecting New Delhi’s assertions that Beijing should respect India’s sensitivities on Kashmir, China on Tuesday said that its policy of issuing stapled visas to Kashmiris would remain unchanged, in crucial comments ahead of a meeting between Prime Ministers of the two countries. Weeks after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna hoped that Beijing would maintain “neutrality” on the affairs related to Jammu and Kashmir and respect India’s sensitivities on the issue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, “Though China had friendly relations with India, its policy towards the stapled visas for residents of the state remained unchanged.” The comments come ahead of this week’s meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of East Asia Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The issue of stapled visa is likely to figure prominently at the talks. Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at his bi-weekly briefing, “As for the Indian Kashmir visa our policy is consistent and has stayed unchanged.” He was replying to questions whether the issue would come up for discussions at the meeting between Singh and Wen.