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- Published: September 12, 2023 13:20
New Delhi: Union Minister and former Army chief General (Retd) VK Singh on Tuesday said that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) will become ‘Indian territory’ soon and asked the people to wait for sometime.
“PoK apne aap bharat mein aayega, thoda intezaar karo,” said Gen VK Singh, when asked by reporters on recent appeal from PoK residents.
Notably, a larger group of residents of PoK recently protested against miserable situation in the province, under current Pakistani regime and appealed to Indian leadership to help the region assimilate in India. Videos of PoK residents shouting slogans against Pakistan also circulated widely on social media.
The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Civil Aviation though didn’t elaborate much on his PoK remarks but this was yet another affirmation of government’s stand on the region.
#WATCH | Dausa, Rajasthan | “PoK will merge with India on its own, wait for some time,” says Union Minister Gen VK Singh (Retd.) when asked that people in PoK have demanded that they be merged with India. (11.09.2023) pic.twitter.com/xG2qy7hXEm
— ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2023
VK Singh’s plainspeak comes in the backdrop of India’s another neighbor China releasing its ‘standard map’, where it claimed Aksai Chin, Arunachal Pradesh & some parts of disputed South China sea, as its own region. India raised strong objection to China’s ‘old habit’ and said it won’t alter the borders.
It may be noted that the government has always maintained that PoK was an integral part of India and will continue to remain the same.
During the SCO Summit in Goa also, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar read the riot act on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism drew enough attention as he chastised the country in presence of its foreign minister Bilawal Singh Bhutto.
He had asked Pakistan to remove its illegal occupation of PoK region and also tore into the leadership for funding & promoting terror activities in Jammu & Kashmir.