Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 13 (ANI): Amid the intensified protest against the Pakistan government in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reiterated India’s stand on merging the illegally occupied region and said that “one day we will end the illegal occupation of the POK and the POK will join with India.”
“These days, a lot of things are going on at the POK. You must have seen some incidents happening there. Now, Modi government, we are very clear on this. Parliament’s resolution, we are very clear that POK is a part of India. It is part of India, it was always part of India, it will be part of India,” EAM said during a media interaction at a seminar on Indian Capital Markets ‘Roadmap for Viksit Bharat’ at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai. And we definitely have this intention. that one day we will end the illegal occupation of the POK and the POK will join with India. Now you see that the opposition is in the opposite direction,” he added.
The minister also questioned “who wanted to run Article 370, who was interested in it” referring to the criticism after Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the BJP-led government in August 2019.
“If I talk about the record, then in the last five years, one of our great achievements was on Article 370. And we will also say that the NDA’s record and the NDA’s thinking, the Modi government’s thinking is that how to integrate Kashmir with the country, how to further develop Kashmir. On the other hand, you see who wanted to run Article 370, who was interested in it. So this is also a very clear choice in front of the country,” he said.
EAM also commented on Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah remarks that “they (Pakistan) are also not wearing bangles” and will attack us, saying that leaders are so afraid of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons that they believe India should not talk about PoJK with Pakistan.
“Farooq Abdullah reminds us not to talk about POK because Pakistan has nuclear weapons. We are proud of India’s nuclear weapons. On the contrary, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons seem to be more important. If it is Manish Shankar Iyer or Farooq Abdullah, they are so afraid of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons that they think that we should not talk about POK. So I will say that whatever is the issue of security, we are on the side of CAA, our intention is to take CAA forward. They are the prisoners of the vote bank,” he said.
“And from the beginning, the minorities who had to come to India from their neighbouring country, they were never worried about them. They never thought about the injustice done to them,” he added.
The situation remained tense in PoJK on Monday as the total strike against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills and taxes entered its fourth day, with the Pakistan government stepping up efforts to de-escalate the situation following deadly clashes between security forces and protesters.
Amid a wheel-jam strike persisting for the fourth consecutive day in PoJK, a long march spearheaded by the Awami Action Committee (AAC) set off for the PoJK capital, Muzaffarabad, Geo News reported.
Protesters have already initiated sit-ins, effectively shutting down the Kohala-Muzaffarabad Road at various points along its 40-kilometer stretch, which connects Kohala town with Muzaffarabad in PoJK. Their route from Dhirkot is expected to lead them to the capital.
The PoJK government deployed Rangers and police following clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators in Mirpur. These clashes resulted in the death of a police officer and leftover 70 others injured.
Heavy police contingents have been stationed at key points and sensitive areas, while markets, trade centres, and educational institutions remain shuttered, and transportation services remain suspended.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a high-level meeting to address the ongoing situation in PoJK, as negotiations between protesters and the state government reached an impasse, according to Geo News.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday that despite a challenge from China, India has counter-deployed and sent a record number of troops to the border.
“I think we need to get the China issue right…Yes, there is a challenge from China, yes, it has violated agreements and sent a large number of troops to the border. But the country should take pride in the fact that, despite COVID, we counter-deployed and sent a record number of troops to the border. Those troops today are holding their own,” Jaishankar said.
Notably, Jaishankar’s remarks came during a conference held at the National Stock Exchange Plaza in Mumbai.
“The country should be supporting the military, country should not be running them down…This running down your own people, your forces is a sad thing. A lot of the country is very unhappy about it,” the EAM said.
Speaking further, he slammed the opposition for blaming PM Modi for Nehru’s actions that were taken in the past.
He said, “Indian land was taken by China between 1958-1962…When you say land taken by China, please understand that this land was lost in 1962…I see efforts made to mislead the country…”
“People are saying Chinese are building villages on the border. Where is the village built? It is built in a place called Longzu, which the Chinese attacked and occupied in 1959. There is a statement of Nehru. So, we look at the google map, look at that village and triangulate it with what Nehru said in 1959” Jaishankar said, giving an example .
“Then Rahul Gandhi and the Congress talk about the bridge in Pangong Pso in Ladakh. This bridge is being built at a place where the Chinese came in 1958 and then retook it in 1962. Recently, I saw a congress spokesperson say the Chinese have built a road in Shaksgam Valley, and this has great concerns for Siachin,” he said.
“Possibly it has concerns for Siachin,” he noted, however, adding that the “Shaksgam Valley was allowed by Nehru to be part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, and Pakistanis handed it over to China in 1963.”
“So Congress is holding Modi responsible for Nehru’s actions in 1949 and Bhutto’s actions in 1963. But apparently, they have no culpability…” Jaishankar said.
Amid border tensions, in March, India and China exchanged views on ways of achieving complete disengagement and resolving the issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector of India-China border areas.
Meanwhile, India, in January this year, while reiterating its long-standing position on China, said the two countries continue to engage on the diplomatic and military sides for some sort of resolution.
“India’s position on China is very well known. It is a relationship, which is not normal, but we have had dialogues both on the military side and on the diplomatic side in October and November. And the idea is that we engage so that we can have some sort of resolution,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during weekly media briefing previously.
The two countries have been in a military standoff for the last three years since May 2020, when the Chinese tried to aggressively alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control.
