An official advertisement in Pakistan showing the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India has put the government in an embarassing position, with the commerce ministry ordering an inquiry into it.
The advertisement for the seventh South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation trade fair to be held in Karachi from Friday depicted Jammu and Kashmir, including the northern areas, as part of India and was published in local dailies on Wednesday.
An inquiry has been ordered into the matter to find out whose fault it was to use a wrong map of Pakistan, a spokesman for the Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan has said.
The advertisement had drawn protests from Pakistan's strategic analysts and retired diplomats.
Several officials and bureaucrats called up the Prime Minister's Office in Islamabad and protested the publication of the map, including the "disputed" areas of Kashmir as part of India, The News daily reported.
Those who protested, include former Additional Secretary of Pakistan Foreign Office Akram Zaki and Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies Shirin Mazari.
"I was horrified that the Ministry of Commerce would make such a serious mistake. This is the second time that this ministry has put out incorrect maps of Pakistan and India," Mazari said.
"Surely the commerce ministry has the capacity to acquire a map of South Asia from the survey of Pakistan. It is unforgivable for any institution of Pakistan not to give out their own country's correct map," she said.
According to the daily, some lawmakers are expected to raise the issue in the current session "to ensure the ministry does not go for a hat-trick on this particular mistake".
