Agencies
New Delhi, September 17:
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a part of India and New Delhi expects to have physical jurisdiction over it one day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
“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 told reporters. He was addressing a press conference on the first 100 days of the Modi 2.0 government
The government has maintained that henceforth talks with Pakistan would be only about PoK and not on Kashmir.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu have made statements in this regard in the recent past after Pakistan sought to internationalise the Kashmir issue.
Predictable position
Jaishankar also asserted that there is a complete predictability of India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir since 1972.
“Beyond a point, don’t worry too much about what people will say on Kashmir. There is a complete predictability about my position. My position has been clear since 1972 and my position is not going to change. At the end of the day, it is my issue. On my issue, my position has prevailed and will prevail,” the External Affairs Minister said.
He was replying to questions on Pakistan’s attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue and concerns expressed by some foreign leaders on human rights condition in Kashmir.
He also emphasised that countries develop a reputation, Jaishankar recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in Afghanistan about “information technology” vs “international terrorism” and how IT has two different meanings, in a reference to India, which is known for its IT professional, and Pakistan.
