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Jaishankar slams Pakistan with ‘stolen part of Kashmir’ jibe over PoK
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.
External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said that the decades-long Kashmir dispute would be solved following the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir," referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
While speaking at a session at the Chatham House think tank in London on Wednesday, Jaishankar said,“On Kashmir, actually we have done, I think, a good job solving most of it.”
“Removing Article 370 was step number one, restoring growth and economic activity and social justice in Kashmir was step number two, and holding elections with a very high turnout was step number three. I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation; when that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved,” PTI quoted Jaishankar as saying.
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India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is, and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country.
The India-Pakistan bilateral ties nosedived, and the trade between the two countries stopped after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
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On Jaishankar's statement, Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference chief Sajjad Lone told ANI,"This is a matter of two countries. Personally, I am a pacifist, and I believe violence cannot be decisive or bring any change. I think engagement is a good way, but it is not our department, it is the central government that has to decide..."
Pakistan's response
Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said,"Instead of making baseless claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India should vacate the large territories of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation from the last 77 years."
“The relevant UN Security Council resolutions stipulate that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir is to be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN auspices. India’s prevarication cannot change this reality,” PTI quoted the Pakistan official as saying.
He also rejected the claims by the Indian minister about the elections held in its part of Kashmir last year and said, “any electoral exercise pursuant to the Indian constitution cannot serve as a substitute to grant of right to self-determination.”
