NEW DELHI: With Article 370 being entirely a matter of the Constitution, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday reiterated that Jammu & Kashmir is an inalienable and integral part of India and a sovereign matter of India.
The remarks were made by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi on Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s tweets on Jammu & Kashmir.
“We’ve reiterated that Jammu & Kashmir is an inalienable & integral part of India. Article 370 is entirely a matter of India as well as our Constitution & it’s a sovereign matter. We don’t see what their locus is on this,” Bagchi said during a weekly media briefing on Thursday.
Derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi were made by Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during a press conference at the United Nations in New York recently.
The remark sparked massive outrage and widespread protests across the country. BJP workers across the country burnt effigies of Bilawal to vent their outrage in the matter.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also slammed the Pakistan foreign minister over his ‘uncivilised outburst’ at PM Modi, saying “these comments are a new low, even for Pakistan.”
“Pakistan’s foreign minister’s frustration would be better directed towards the masterminds of terrorist enterprises in his own country, who have made terrorism a part of their state policy. Pakistan needs to change its own mindset or remain a pariah,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.
“The statement of the foreign minister of Pakistan is very shameful and it is an attempt to replicate the way in which the Pakistan Army was defeated by the Indian Army on this day in 1971. Maybe he is still in pain. The world has seen Pakistan’s actions and intentions. They have been giving shelter to terrorists for a long time. PM Modi has taken strict actions against terrorism. The US killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan and India did a surgical strike in Pakistan,” said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
Earlier in September, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at the UN General Assembly expressed the country’s wish to attain peace with India however he did not fall short of raking up the Kashmir issue.
“We look for peace with all our neighbours, including India, sustainable peace and stability in South Asia, however, remains contingent upon a just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”
India has stood firm on its longstanding position on Kashmir that the entire Union territory is an integral part of India.
“India must take credible steps to create enabling environment for constructive engagement. We are neighbours and we are there forever, the choice is ours whether we live in peace or keep on fighting with each other,” Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif said at UNGA.
Incidentally, Pakistan was included in the grey list of FATF several times for incubating terrorism. (ANI)
