Archive · 17 Sep 2026
India Rejects New China-Pakistan Boundary Commission Over Kashmir
Pakistan and China have started a group to manage their shared border.
The group may help with border surveys, trade, travel, and connections between the two countries.
Pakistan says the group comes from an agreement signed in 2013.
India objects because it says the border areas belong to India.
India also says Pakistan cannot make agreements about land that Pakistan controls illegally.
A 1963 agreement transferred control of the Shaksgam Valley from Pakistan to China.
India has never accepted that agreement as legal.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor also passes through areas claimed by India.
This is part of a much older disagreement involving India, Pakistan, and China.
India says the newly operationalized commission lacks legal basis and concerns Indian territory.
Pakistan and China say the commission will coordinate border management, surveys, trade, and connectivity.
The commission stems from a 2013 Pakistan-China agreement and held its first meeting in Islamabad.
India has never recognized the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement as legal or valid.
The dispute involves Pakistan-administered areas, the Shaksgam Valley, CPEC, and competing territorial claims.
- Who
- India, Pakistan, and China are involved; India’s objection was announced by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
- What
- Pakistan and China operationalized a Boundary Joint Commission, which India rejected as lacking legal basis.
- When
- The commission’s inaugural meeting and India’s rejection were reported on September 16; its origins date to 2013, while the disputed boundary agreement dates to 1963.
- Where
- The inaugural meeting was held in Islamabad, covering the China-Pakistan border, including the Khunjerab crossing and the Shaksgam Valley.
- Why
- Pakistan and China say the commission will improve border management, trade, and connectivity; India says Pakistan has no authority to make arrangements concerning Indian territory.
India’s position
Pakistan-China position
Legal status of the commission
India’s position
India says the commission has no legal basis and that Pakistan cannot make arrangements concerning Indian territory under its occupation.
Pakistan-China position
Pakistan and China operationalized the commission under the framework of their 2013 Boundary Management System agreement.
Status of the 1963 agreement
India’s position
India has never recognized the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement as legal or valid, saying Pakistan had no authority to transfer Indian territory.
Pakistan-China position
The agreement provided the basis for Pakistan and China to manage their boundary and included provisions for later negotiations after a Kashmir settlement.
Purpose and regional impact
India’s position
India views the arrangements, including CPEC’s route through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as affecting its territorial claims and regional interests.
Pakistan-China position
Pakistan and China describe the commission as a mechanism for border management, joint surveys, trade flows, and people-to-people connectivity.
- Commission origin
- Article 45 of the 2013 Pakistan-China Agreement on the Boundary Management System provides for the joint commission.
- Inaugural meeting
- The first meeting was held in Islamabad.
- India’s position
- India says no boundary exists between Pakistan and China and calls the commission legally baseless.
- 1963 agreement
- Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley, also called the Trans-Karakoram Tract, to China under the agreement.
- Territory claimed by India
- India says Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 square kilometres of Indian territory in the Shaksgam Valley to China.
- CPEC
- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor connects Kashgar with Gwadar and passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to the article.
- India’s broader claim
- India says China remains in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh.