The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has removed a map of India from its official X account following a strong diplomatic protest from Pakistan over its depiction of disputed territories, diplomatic sources told a private media outlet on Wednesday. 

The map, posted alongside a USTR press release outlining a framework for an interim US-India trade agreement, showed the entire Jammu and Kashmir region — including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as part of India. It also depicted China’s Aksai Chin region within Indian boundaries, despite its disputed status between China and India.

The map went live on Friday evening and was taken down by Monday evening, the first working day after the weekend. Pakistani officials said they lodged protests both through the US Embassy in Islamabad and with the State Department in Washington, emphasizing that the map contradicted the longstanding US position that Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory whose final status should be determined according to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Diplomatic sources familiar with the matter suggest that the map may have been sourced from Google Maps, similar to a previous instance where the USTR used a map in a trade press release on Bangladesh.
 

While the map only showed territorial outlines and no labels, Pakistani diplomats stressed that even an outline carries significant political and diplomatic weight, especially on the sensitive Kashmir issue.

Concerns escalated after Indian media highlighted the map, portraying it as a possible shift in US policy and an implicit endorsement of India’s territorial claims. Pakistani officials said this made it critical for Islamabad to immediately reaffirm Washington’s traditional position on Kashmir and prevent any misinterpretation.

The USTR press release itself remains online, but the India map has been withdrawn. The map used for the Bangladesh trade release remains available, reinforcing the view that the India map was posted inadvertently.

The controversy comes as Washington and New Delhi unveiled a framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement, designed to boost two-way commerce. Under the agreement, the US will reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent, having already removed an additional 25 percent punitive duty, with reciprocal cuts expected for US exports to India.