New Delhi: The BJP on Friday asked Pakistan to hand over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to India, asserting that Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of the country.
It also said relations with the neighbouring country cannot improve until it stops terrorism.
Reacting to National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s recent statement that Kashmir will be an integral part of India, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Abdullah had made a “good point”.
“Farooq Abdullah often says different things, but he has made a good point. Kashmir belongs to India… Prime Minister Narendra Modi put his stamp on this by abrogating Article 370. People used to say that if Article 370 were abrogated, there would be no one left to hoist the national flag. Today, the Tricolour is flying in every nook and corner,” Hussain told PTI Videos.
He said there were no “ifs” or “buts” when it came to the question of who Kashmir belongs to.
Calling Pakistan a “terror state”, he said there could be no improvement in relations with the neighbouring country until it stopped terrorism.
“Pakistan must accept that Kashmir is an integral part of India and hand over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to India. After that, all our problems with Pakistan will end,” he said.
On Thursday, Farooq Abdullah made a strong pitch for dialogue between India and Pakistan, asserting that bullets and military confrontation cannot resolve political disputes and that meaningful engagement must begin without waiting for hostilities to end.
“Ab aap intezaar karenge, jab tak aap sabki goliyan band ho jayengi, tab tak raat ho jayegi” (If you keep waiting for everyone to stop firing, it will be too late by the time the guns fall silent), Abdullah said.
He was responding to a question about the BJP-led government’s stated position that talks and bullets cannot go together.
Asked about claims of peace and normalcy in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, particularly in view of the recent terror attacks in Kishtwar, Abdullah acknowledged that while terrorism still exists, people need not be afraid. Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India, he asserted.
Clarifying his earlier remarks about Pakistan, Abdullah said his statement had been misrepresented; he was only recalling the atrocities committed during the 1947 tribal invasion, including the killing of a Christian doctor and his family and the rape of nuns at a Baramulla hospital.
He also said Pakistan must move beyond repeatedly raising the Kashmir issue, stressing that disputes cannot be resolved through military action.
