Pakistan occupied Kashmir only unfinished agenda: MoS Jitendra Singh

NEW DELHI: Taking on Pakistan army chief Raheel Sharif's comment on Kashmir being the "unfinished agenda" of Partition, minister of state in PMO Jitendra Singh said the only issue was return of parts of Jammu and Kashmir under Pakistan's possession and Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the task before the neighbour was to end support to terrorism.

"If there is any subject related to Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan, it is how the parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) can be again included in India. That means the area, which after 65-66 years, even after being part of Jammu and Kashmir, is under illegal possession of Pakistan," Singh said. Terming Sharif's remarks as "belligerent and irrational", Singhvi said the only unfinished agenda before the world was to ensure that Pakistan ceased to be a safe harbour for global terrorists. He noted that Pakistan was imploding as well as exploding, both politically and economically.

The Indian comments came after Sharif called Kashmir an "unfinished agenda" and warned of "unbearable damage" in case of a "long or short" misadventure.

BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said it was an "empty boast" by Sharif, adding his provocative comments were driven by desperation over Pakistan's internal crisis as well as "exposure" of its role in sponsoring terrorism in India. "As far as India is concerned, our Army has strongly responded to Pakistan army's provocations in the past, continues to do so during the ongoing ceasefire violations and will do so in case of any future misadventure," Sharma said.