DD, AIR news bulletins broadcast weather report of PaK cities, Pakistan objects
New Delhi: State-owned broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio from Friday began broadcasting weather reports on Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit in Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK) in their prime-time news bulletins.
The weather segment of the news bulletins on DD and AIR included the update on cities of Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit in PaK.
With summer temperatures rising, comprehensive weather coverage in news by Doordarshan and All India Radio as the national public broadcasters from across the entire territory of India has assumed focus, an Information and Broadcasting ministry statement said.
While DD News carries weather reports in its news bulletins every day in the morning and evening, All India Radio News carries all important weather updates throughout the day in its main bulletins, the statement said.
“These weather reports cover every small detail from every nook and corner of the country while highlighting extreme weather conditions across the country, temperatures of various places from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Gilgit to Guwahati, Baltistan to Port Blair,” it said without specifically stating that the PaK cities have been added in the weather updates.
The state broadcasters have started the practice, but private news channels may follow suit, a ministry source said.
The move comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Regional Meteorological Centre started including cities under PaK in its forecasts, a departure from its earlier format.
The IMD has started including Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, which are parts of PaK, under the Jammu and Kashmir meteorological sub-division since May 5, Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the Regional Meteorological Department that gives forecast for the northwest meteorological division of the IMD, had said.
IMD Director General M Mohapatra had said they have been mentioning areas under PaK under its daily weather bulletin ever since the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in the two union territories in August last year.
However, officials said it’s now being mentioned explicitly under the Jammu and Kashmir subdivision.
Meanwhile, Pakistan rejected India’s move to begin broadcasting weather reports on Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Gilgit in Pak, terming it as a “legally void” action to change the status of the region.
Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that like the so-called political maps issued last year by India, this move is also legally void, contrary to reality, and in violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.
India in November last released fresh maps showing PaK as part of the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in the UT of Ladakh following the bifurcation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs released the new map of India depicting the two UTs with PaK ‘capital’ Muzaffarabad within the geographical boundary of the country.
This is another mischievous Indian action in support of a spurious claim and further evidence of India’s irresponsible behaviour, it said.
The FO also said that no illegal and unilateral steps by India can change the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Such moves by the Government of India cannot prejudice the inalienable right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, it said.
Pakistan would urge India not to make baseless assertions and to abstain from misleading the world community through unfounded claims, according to the statement.
The move by the state-owned broadcasters comes after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Regional Meteorological Centre started including cities under PaK in its forecasts, a departure from its earlier format. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
