The war of words between India and Pakistan took a different stage after the revocation of the Article 370, making Kashmir part of the Indian territory.
Now, the two countries have begun debating around the ‘Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)’!
The debate intensified with the Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s press remarks marking the completion of the ‘100 days of Indian Government’ as Modi 2.0’.
Stating that ending the special status to J&K region was an internal matter, Jaishankar said, “What should come on the table first of all is the terrorism issue.”
“Because that is the root cause of the state of the relationship [with Pakistan]. The issue is not Article 370. The issue is Pakistan’s terrorism. There has to be a recognition of that,” he added.
He asserted the world understands New Delhi’s stand on the issue.
Citing the remarks by US Congress’ members, the Minister said, “[Members of] U.S. Congress say a lot of things. What they say is not necessarily a function of the knowledge on that particular subject. Sometimes they could have a view and mostly the views could be transposed from their own experience.”
“If I were to meet a member of the U.S. Congress, I would ask them, look you have confronted terrorism, what was your response, you have confronted separatism, what was your response?” he noted when asked about his response to the US Congress members on the continuous lockdown of Kashmir.
PoK Debate Continues
In his first press meet after assuming office under Modi 2.0 Government, Jaishankar reiterated there is no change in India’s stand on PoK matter.
“Our position has, is and will always be very clear on PoK, that it is part of India and we expect one day we will have physical jurisdiction over it,” he added.
Reacting to Jaishankar’s remarks, Pakistan Foreign Ministry called on the international community to take cognizance of New Delhi’s remarks on the physical jurisdiction of PoK.
It said such statements can escalate tensions, breaching peace and security in the region.
“We strongly condemn and reject the inflammatory and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian External Affairs Minister regarding Pakistan and PoK. These remarks are an obvious manifestation of India’s utter frustration over the continued international censure of its egregious human rights violations in Kashmir,” reads a statement by the Pakistan Foreign Office.
“India should refrain from violating international law, and fully comply with UN Security Council resolutions for a final settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” it added.
The war of words between the two sides gain high significance in view of the upcoming UN General Assembly and the two ministers’ likely meet at the SAARC meeting scheduled on September 26, 2019.
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