Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said Pakistan has no locus standi on the Kashmir matter since it has occupied part of it illegally.

Addressing an event in Leh, Singh asked how India could have talks with Pakistan if it kept trying to destabilise India using terrorism, PTI reported. India wants to have a good neighbourly relationship, but Pakistan should first stop exporting terror to India, Singh said.

“I want to ask Pakistan, when had Kashmir belonged to you?” he said. “And Pakistan was also carved out of India, and us respecting their existence should not mean that they keep on making remarks on Kashmir.”

This was Singh’s first visit to Ladakh since the Centre revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and decided to split the state into two Union territories earlier this month. The two Union territories, one of which is Ladakh, will come into existence on October 31.

“By making Ladakh a Union territory, we respected the public sentiment here and solved their problems,” Singh said. “Our prime minister has made it clear that we will bring localised solutions for strategic areas.”

Ever since India made changes to Jammu and Kashmir’s status, tensions have escalated with Pakistan, which has downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended bilateral trade. The country has raised the Kashmir dispute at the United Nations Security Council and has said that it would take it up at the UN Human Rights Council and the International Court of Justice as well.

Speaking in Leh, Rajnath Singh also said no country was supporting Pakistan on the matter.