In what is a significant diplomatic shift in its dealings with Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clarified on Sunday that if bilateral talks happen, it would not be on Jammu and Kashmir, only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — the territory under Pakistan's control since its invasion in 1947.
"If talks were held with Pakistan in future, they would be only on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," said Singh, reiterating the government's position that Islamabad's support to terrorism must stop before any dialogue can be held. Singh was addressing a public rally at Kalka in Haryana ahead of the flagging off the BJP's Jan Ashirwad Yatra for the October Assembly polls.
On the scrapping of Article 370, Singh said the decisions had set off jitters in Pakistan. "Now it (Pakistan) is knocking on every door and approaching countries for help. Have we committed any crime? And now they are trying to threaten us. However, even America has snubbed Pakistan, telling them to initiate a dialogue with India." Turn to P4
Over bilateral talks with Pakistan, Singh wondered what India should even talk about. "On what issue should we have talks and why?" questioned the defence minister, adding, "About what should we talk? If there would be any talk with Pakistan, it would happen only when Pakistan stops supporting terror from its soil."
He also accused Pakistan of destabilising and weakening India through terrorism.
"At times, Pakistan wants to break our country by using terrorism. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown that he has a 56-inch chest. He took a decision to give a befitting reply after the Pulwama terror attack as our Air Force carried out the Balakot strike," he said.
Incidentally, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had till now denied the Balakot strike, recently said that India was planning a bigger strike than Balakot. This means that he had admitted the Balakot air strike took place and that a large number of terrorists were eliminated, the defence minister said.
He also hit out at the Congress Party over the purchase of Rafale jets. The Defence Minister said, "Had we got Rafale, our Air Force need not have gone to Balakot. We could have eliminated those terrorists from our land itself." The Union minister further stressed that the opposition used to say if anybody touched Article 370, the country would be divided and the BJP won't be able to come to power. "I want to say it clearly that the BJP does not do politics for forming government. We do politics of nation building. Under no circumstances, we will allow the prestige of our country to be tarnished," he added.
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