The US State Department has removed ‘inaccurate’ maps of India and Pakistan from its website which did not reflect the correct boundary and geographical locations. “We have taken the map (of India) off the website. It did contain some inaccuracies which were associated with the boundaries of some geographic features,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.
“My understanding is that it was inaccurate, that it wasn’t drawn properly,” Nuland said. “We will put up the new map when we acquire one that we are confident is accurate,” she said in response to a question but did not answer questions from where such inaccurate map came from.
“This was unintentional. We’re going to get the map fixed and put up a fixed map,” Nuland said. The State Department is also pulling out such maps from other sections of its website, she said, adding that this was unintentional.
The State Department pulled out from its website the maps of both India and Pakistan, as they showed Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as part of Pakistan, which was first reported by a major Indian daily, following which the Indian government had lodged a strong protest with the State Department. Under its A-Z list of countries, the website www.state.gov carries profiles and maps of all countries with which the US has diplomatic relations.
