‘Who is stopping you? Reclaim it if you can’: J-K CM Omar Abdullah on S Jaishankar’s PoK remarks

At the J-K Assembly on Thursday, Abdullah asked: “Who stopped you (from reclaiming PoK)?”

“Chaliye, ek hissa Pakistan ke pass hai. Humne kabhi kaha ki mat lao (One part is with Pakistan. Did we ever say don’t reclaim it)?” he asked. “Reclaim it if you can,” he said.

He pointed out that it could have been reclaimed during the Kargil war, but was not. “It’s okay that it could not be done then, but if you can reclaim it today, then who among us will say don’t get it back?” he asked.

He also mentioned that a part of Kashmir was with China. “…While a part of Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan, a part of it is with China as well. Why is there no mention of that part?”

“When you will reclaim PoK, please do us a favour by reclaiming the part of Kashmir that is with China,” Abdullah said.

Concluding the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Lt Governor’s address in the Assembly, Abdullah accused the BJP of having destroyed the legacy of the last Dogra ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, by dividing his erstwhile state into two Union Territories and abrogating laws that gave protection to locals on land and employment.

Asking the BJP what improved after abrogating J-K’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, the Chief Minister said it ended neither militancy nor corruption. He also said that incidents of terror attacks were being reported in areas like Jammu and Reasi, which had been made militancy free much before 2019.