External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Thursday said that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is an inseparable part of the country that will eventually come back to India.
Reacting to the growing unrest and continued violence that is taking place in PoK, he said that there is no doubt that people in PoK have been watching and getting affected with the massive development that has been taking place in Jammu and Kashmir over the last few years.
“People in PoK are seeing the positive changes across the Line of Control and they are asking themselves that if things are like that, then why are we suffering and why are we accepting this kind of mistreatment? So, they are undoubtedly getting affected by all this. We would love to see where this goes,” said EAM Jaishankar while speaking at ‘Vishwabandhu Bharat’ interaction in Nashik, Maharashtra.
Complete chaos prevails in PoK’s Muzaffarabad which has been rocked by violent protests as the locals, fed up with the rising inflation and high electricity bills, continue to clash with police over the past many days.
“PoK is a different category because eventually PoK is India and it will come back to India, I don’t think we should ever have any doubt about it. Pakistan has a lot of other problems, including in Balochistan and various other parts as well,” commented the EAM.
Pakistan’s economic woes too continue to dampen its credibility amid fears of a complete meltdown, he said.
“They also have severe economic problems right now. Whether they do the right reforms, and whether they take the right policies… Because, this policy of continuously going against India, today has brought Pakistan down to where it is. We have to see whether there is any change in thinking there,” stated Jaishankar.
Earlier this week, while addressing a campaign rally in Palghar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also made it clear that “PoK was, is, and will continue to be an integral part of India” and no power can challenge this position.
