The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has taken down a social media post of India-US Trade Deal that included a map showing the whole of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin as part of India. Earlier, the USTR shared a post on social media platform X showing a map of India that aligns with the official map of India, depicting the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin, as Indian territory.In global politics, it was seen as a sign that India and the US had started moving toward a stronger relationship than that between the US and Pakistan.
The deletion, which occurred on February 11, 2026 comes after a frenzy of guessing as to whether the map represented a significant change in Washington’s geopolitical position or was just a technical oversight.
US Remove Indian Map in Trade Deal
The map was initially shared by The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) after the announcement on the bilateral interim framework agreement on trade, soon after New Delhi and Washington announced they had agreed on the terms of the deal. It showed India’s reduction of tariffs on US exports.
The map also showed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) and Aksai Chin – the areas currently illegally under Chinese control without any doubt as parts of India. Some reports claim that the post was removed after Pakistan sent a strong protest to both the US Embassy in Islamabad and the State Department in Washington.
According to Pakistani officials, the map went against the US long-standing position on Kashmir as a disputed territory and the final status of which has to be determined through UN resolutions, which they argued in their protest.
Earlier, official maps from US authorities typically showed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin with demarcation lines as disputed territory. The now-deleted map shared by the USTR instead depicted the entire Jammu and Kashmir region, including PoK and Aksai Chin, as an integral part of India, without those previous markings.
India’s Stand
India has always said the whole Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh including Aksai Chin has been, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. This position underpins India’s official maps and diplomatic stance on its borders
