FAO lists J-K and Arunachal Pradesh as independent entities

The categorisation came as a surprise to many here as the UN has been so far only treating Jammu and Kashmir as a dispute between India and Pakistan while viewing Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India.

In its report, FAO has shown J-K and Arunachal Pradesh as separate countries along with India. The Indian states figure in country grouping for East Asia. The names are there in annexure five of the 2010 FAO report to assess greenhouse gas emissions from the dairy sector.

When contacted, FAO representative in India Gavin Wall said the country grouping is based on FAO's Global Administrative Unit Layers(GAUL), which aims at compiling and disseminating information on administrative units for all countries in the world and it complies with the UNCS international boundaries map.

Wall said because the GAUL is developed at the global level, controversial boundaries cannot be ignored. "The selected approach is to treat disputed areas as independent entities not dependent from countries.

"In this way the GAUL preserves national integrity for all disputed countries. Areas of then classified from a purely geographic point of view," he said.

Arunachal Pradesh has been spelt as 'Arunashal' Pradesh in the list which also shows Aksai Chin as a separate country. China maintains that Aksai Chin is its integral part while India says it is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir