AS Pakistan is showing utmost restraint despite serious provocations by India on several bilateral fronts, New Delhi has gone a step further in raising the ante by laying claims on Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that Azad Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India and that he expected New Delhi to gain physical control over it one day. In response, Pakistan has strongly condemned and rejected “the inflammatory and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian External Affairs Minister regarding Pakistan and AJK.
Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute between Pakistan and India and fate of the territory has to be decided as per UN Security Council resolutions. Indian decision to annex the Occupied Kashmir is being protested furiously by Kashmiris while majority of the global community too has expressed serious concerns over the move as well as actions aimed at silencing Kashmiris from raising voice for their freedom. However, latest remarks of the Indian External Affairs Minister clearly indicate that New Delhi was least bothered about world reaction or protests of Kashmiris and Pakistan. This should serve as an eye-opener for all those who are still pleading for normalization of relations with India. Pakistan has rightly called upon the international community to take note of the “aggressive posturing” of India as such irresponsible talk could lead to catastrophic consequences. This is because the remarks are indicative of India’s agenda for Kashmir and such an aggressive mindset could trigger nuclear war in the region. Pakistan, as manifestly proved in the past, has the capacity and the will to safeguard its security interests but the remarks emphasize the need to do more to expose India’s designs before the world community.
