Pakistan has decided to lodge an official protest with the World Bank (WB) after the lending agency used a map of Pakistan without the territories of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
World Bank’s Lead Economist for African Region Vincent Palmade used the map in his presentation during the official ceremony of a book launch in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The book titled ‘South Asia’s Turn: Policies to Boost Competitiveness and Create the Next Export Powerhouse’ was launched during the annual general meeting and conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists. Ministry of Planning & Development and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (Pide) jointly organised the three-day conference.
The WB has defended its decision to use the ‘incorrect’ map. “The WB does not have any official map on Kashmir for India and Pakistan,” said Gabi George Afram, the WB programme leader while responding to a question on excluding G-B and AJK territories.
Planning Commission’s Chief Economist Dr Nadeem Javeid, who chaired the session in which the WB official used the map, said: “After consulting with the Foreign Office, we have issued a disclaimer as the WB official has shown an incomplete and incorrect map of Pakistan.”
Pakistan, he said, would officially lodge a protest with the WB office in Pakistan on this negligence. Dr Javid said the government would make sure that no such map was printed in the book.