‘PoK will join India willingly’, says Rajnath Singh; Farooq Abdullah says Pakistan not ‘wearing bangles’

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday asserted that India will never lose its claim on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), but expressed confidence that force wouldn’t be necessary to reclaim it. He believes the people of PoK will yearn to join India after witnessing the development in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will not have to use force to take PoK as people would say that we must be merged with India. Such demands are now coming,” the Defence Minister said adding that “PoK was, is and will remain India’s territory”.

Singh highlighted the return of peace and progress in Jammu and Kashmir, which regional political parties in the erstwhile state have denied, suggesting that demands for PoK’s integration with India would soon arise organically. He reiterated India’s unwavering stance on PoK as an integral part of its territory.

In an interview with news agency PTI, Rajnath Singh said the way peace and development had returned in Jammu and Kashmir, there would soon be demands for PoK to merge with India.

However, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah cautioned against underestimating Pakistan’s capabilities, saying that Pakistan wasn’t “wearing bangles” and they possessed nuclear weapons that could pose a threat to India and Kashmir in particular.

“If the defence minister is saying it then go ahead. Who are we to stop? But remember, they (Pakistan) are also not wearing bangles. It has atom bombs, and unfortunately, that atom bomb will fall on us,” the senior National Conference leader said.

He also criticised the BJP, pointing out that terrorism persists despite the abrogation of Article 370, and emphasised the need for dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the underlying issues.

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