Kalka (Haryana):
Asserting that dialogue with Pakistan is not possible till it stops aiding and abetting terrorism, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that if talks are held with Pakistan they will be only on Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Singh was addressing a public rally ahead of flagging off the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra for the assembly polls.
“If talks take place (with Pakistan), it will be on PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and not on any other issue,” he said.
“If at all there have to be any talks with Pakistan they will only happen when it stops aiding and abetting terrorism,” he said while noting that people in Pakistan want a dialogue between India and Pakistan.
On what issue should we have talks and why, the defence minister asked.
On the scrapping of the provision granting the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, Singh said the decisions had sent jitters to Pakistan and became a cause of concern for them.
“Now it (Pakistan) is knocking every door and approaching various countries for help. Have we committed any crime? And they are trying to threaten us. However, America, perceived as the most powerful country in the world by people, has snubbed Pakistan, telling them to initiate a dialogue with India,” he said.
Rajnath further said Pakistan wanted to destabilise and weaken India through terrorism.
“At times, Pakistan wants to break our country by using terrorism. But our Prime Minister 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.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who remained in denial on Balakot strike, had recently said that India was planning a bigger strike than Balakot which means he has admitted that the Balakot air strike took place, the defence minister said.
