SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah has warned of nuclear consequences in response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s comment on people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) wanting to merge with India.
“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,” said Abdullah.
Abdullah’s warning came after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated in an interview with news agency PTI on Sunday that India won’t have to capture PoK with force because “its people, on their own, would want to be part of the country after seeing the development in Kashmir”.
“I think India will not have to do anything. The way the ground situation has changed in Jammu and Kashmir, the way the region is witnessing economic progress and the way peace has returned there, I think demands will emerge from people of PoK that they should merge with India,” Singh said.
Singh added that “PoK was, is, and will remain ours”. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday reiterated India’s claim over PoK, saying it is part of India and there is a resolution of the Indian Parliament which states that PoK is part of the country.
He said, “PoK has never been out of this country. It is part of this country. There is a resolution of the Indian Parliament that PoK is very much a part of India. Now, how did PoK, how did other people get control? You know, when you have someone who is not a responsible custodian of a house, someone steals from outside. Now, here you have allowed another country.”
