NEW DELHI, April 15: The Ministry of Defence today emphatically denied that its minister, George Fernandes, had even remotely implied that Jammu & Kashmir was not an ``internal issue'' of India. ``Our attention has been drawn to totally unwarranted conclusions being drawn from Raksha Mantri's comments on Jammu & Kashmir.(He) had emphasised that the state of J&K is an integral part of India and that this position is beyond doubt,'' a spokesman of the Defence Ministry said in a statement here today.The statement came in response to an alleged comment by Fernandes at the Press Club of India here yesterday that while ``Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.it is not an internal issue,'' implying that since the matter was the subject of a UN resolution as well as a dialogue with Paksitan it may not be appropriate to call it that.The Pakistan foreign office today also welcomed Fernandes' statement, saying it was ``pragmatic and realistic.(and)in tune with the universally accepted position thatKashmir is a disputed territory and that the United Nations has determined that the people of Jammu & Kashmir must be given their right of self-determination.''Islamabad went on to add that now, the bilateral dialogue with India, stalled after the third round of talks last September, ``should resume on the basis of the Islamabad agreement and must focus on finding a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir problem.''The statement from the Ministry of Defence here, however, went on to add that Fernandes had in fact referred to the ``external dimensions'' of J&K, which ``relate to Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation of territories of the State and its continuing abetment and support to cross-border terrorism.''It said the Shimla agreement committed both countries to resolving their differences ``through bilateral negotiations and negotiations. India's commitment to this process is firm and abiding.''
