India objects to US envoy's visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

India has conveyed its objections to the US over the recent visit to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the American ambassador to Islamabad, Donald Blome, the country's ministry of external Affairs (MEA) said on Friday (7).

India also took objections to the US envoy to Pakistan holding some meetings in PoK.

"We have conveyed our objections to the visit," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

Blome's visit to the disputed region this week was highlighted by the US embassy in Islamabad in a series of tweets.

Second visit by a US official to PoK since April

The American diplomat became the second official from his country to visit PoK since April. Then, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had visited the region, prompting the MEA slamming her saying her "narrow-minded politics" violated India's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

However, while Omar's visit directly touched upon the human rights issue in Jammu and Kashmir and the touchy issue of Article 370, Blome's visit was aimed at restoring Pakistani heritages and cultural sites and highlighting Washington's aid for the victims of the 2005 earthquakes and the recent floods in the South Asian nation.

However, Blome mentioned PoK as 'Azad Jammu and Kashmir', something which New Delhi dislikes since it holds that the region was forcibly occupied by the Pakistani forces in 1947.