A day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s comment on Indian-held Kashmir that it would soon become a part of Pakistan, India reacted strongly by asserting that this dream would never come true.
“We would like to tell PM Nawaz and Pakistani people that their dream [of making Kashmir a part of Pakistan] would never come true,” Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj told reporters during a news conference on Saturday.
Reasserting the Indian stance on the status of disputed Jammu and Kashmir region, she claimed that the whole of Kashmir belongs to India. “For the last few days, Pakistani politicians, including Prime Minister Nawaz, have been issuing irresponsible statements regarding the ongoing situation in Indian held Kashmir.”
The day is not far when Jammu and Kashmir will become Pakistan. No one can stop freedom movement in occupied Kashmir,” PM Nawaz said while addressing a rally in Muzaffarabad on Friday after the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the front-runner in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to the PM Nawaz’s statement, Swaraj said the premier presented Burhan Wani, a slain Kashmiri whose death sparked the recent clashes in the valley, as a ‘martyr’ and honoured him by calling him a freedom fighter.
The Indian minister alleged that Wani was involved in the killing of several civilians and security forces personnel. Further, she accused Pakistan of supporting separatist elements in Indian Kashmir.
While defending the actions of Indian army and police during the recent clashes in Kashmir, the minister said that the professionalism and restrained practised by the Indian security forces is evident from the fact that over 1,700 security personnel have been injured in the clashes so far and many of them are still in the critical condition.
