Complete J&K includes PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan: Army Chief

New Delhi: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Friday that when India refers to Jammu and Kashmir, it also includes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, which are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.

General Rawat was delivering a lecture her at the Manekshaw Auditorium.

“When we say Jammu and Kashmir, the complete state of Jammu and Kashmir includes PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Therefore, PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan becomes an occupied territory, a territory which has been illegally occupied by our western neighbour,” he said.

Rawat further said that the PoK area is not under the control of the Pakistani establishment but is being controlled by terrorists and it is for this reason that Pakistan has upped its ante against India after abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Article 370 was brought in, and there itself, in sub-para 3, it is very clearly mentioned that it is temporary in nature. When Article 370 was introduced with the word ‘temporary’, there was no objection from Pakistan. Article 370 in itself has been amended twice where the leadership of Jammu and Kashmir was designated as Sadr-e-Riyasat, later on the prime minister and then the chief minister.

“Therefore why is it that Pakistan has suddenly woken up and has raised the ante on Article 370? It is because this territory which is being illegally occupied by Pakistan, is not controlled by the Pakistani establishment. It is controlled by terrorists. PoK is actually a terrorist-controlled part of Pakistan,” he said.

The Indian Parliament withdrew special status to Jammu and Kashmir by reading down Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5. Ever since, Pakistan has upped the ante over the move, albeit unsuccessfully, in various international fora, accusing India of committing human rights violations in the Valley by imposing a communication blockade.

 Published on: Oct 25, 2019 at 20:00 IST

IANS