Farooq Abdullah courts controversy, says India can't retrieve PoK; LoC will eventually become Indo-Pak border

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah has again courted controversy by repeating his assertion that India won't be able to retrieve Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). National Conference (NC) leader also maintained that Pakistan won't be able to snatch any more territory from India. Farooq Abdullah believes that Kashmir issue could be settled only when India and Pakistan agree to accept Line of Control (LoC) as the border between the South Asian neighbours. 

Speaking at the Zee India Conclave in New Delhi, Abdullah was responding to a question on whether he thought the Kashmir issue could ever be resolved. "It will be resolved. It will certainly be resolved. But you have to first acknowledge that a part of Kashmir is with Pakistan. And you have to acknowledge that you are not going to be able to take it back. And Pakistan has to acknowledge there is no way they are going to take any more of the land". 

"And when the resolution comes, it is only realistic that what we today call the Line of Control will eventually become the boundary between India and Pakistan," he added.

During the conclave, a number of heated exchanges were witnessed with members of the audience who shouted questions at him. 

While speaking on Pakistan, he argued that it would be incorrect to call Pakistan a rogue state. "Yes, there is a rogue army in Pakistan. You have to know that not every Pakistani hates India. There are many Pakistanis who love us," Farooq Abdullah said.