Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made pointed remarks on Wednesday regarding a former Pakistani minister's praise for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, suggesting that Pakistan would soon struggle to contain the unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), paving the way for its eventual integration into India.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, Rajnath Singh expressed amusement and surprise at Fawad Chaudhry, a well-known Pakistani politician, lauding Rahul Gandhi. Singh recalled Chaudhry's previous statement admitting Pakistan's involvement in terror attacks in Pulwama and Uri.
“It was the same Fawad Chowdhary who said on record that Pakistan carried out terror strikes in Pulwama and Uri,” said the Defence Minister.
Singh said, "No one should worry out Rahul factor as people’s mandate will settle the matter for once and all."
As the 2024 elections near, Fawad Chaudhry, a minister in the Imran Khan government, praised Rahul Gandhi over the latter's wealth redistribution idea and socialist ideals in line with his great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru's. That statement elicited sharp reactions from BJP.
On the continuing agitations in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Defence Minister reiterated the Indian claim on that part of Kashmir, calling it an integral part of India's territory. He said that the people of PoK would exert their influence for getting it merged into India.
Singh said that Jammu and Kashmir has shown tremendous improvement under the NDA government and that caught the attention of not just Pakistan but the world as well. He cited instances of Pakistan flags being taken down in parts of PoK, which has shown the rising discontent of the locals.
"Recently Pakistan flags were taken down in some areas of PoK, this indicates people's angst there. People of PoK are our people, one day they themselves will demand that they should be integrated into India" Defence Minister said.
On his part, Singh warned that it had zero tolerance towards those who wanted to harm India's interests, and asked the international community to act against the terrorist operations being launched from the Pakistani soil.
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