"PoK's Illegal Occupation Still Stings Us," Says PM Modi As He Celebrates Diwali With Soldiers In J&K

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday celebrated Diwali with the troops deployed in Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Rajouri and praised them for their valour, saying it enables the government to take decisions hitherto considered impossible

PTI10_27_2019_000071B

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who celebrated Diwali with soldiers stationed in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, made a veiled attack at Pakistan for illegally occupying the parts of PoK and said that talking about the illegal possession of Kashmir “still stings”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday celebrated Diwali with the troops deployed in Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Rajouri and praised them for their valour, saying it enables the government to take decisions hitherto considered impossible. Accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Modi flew to the Army Brigade Headquarters in Rajouri town just a few hours after Pakistani army targeted forward posts in the district. The shelling from across the border was retaliated by the Indian army. Wearing a combat jacket, Modi exchanged wishes and sweets during his nearly two-hour-long stay and interaction with the troops deployed along the LoC, officials said. While narrating the account of partition of India, PM Modi said that lakhs of soldiers died and became refuges during partition, but still India bears no ill-will against Pakistan. “But they hatched a conspiracy and tried to take over Kashmir, but Indian soldiers with their bravery and valor stopped them. They however managed to illegally capture some part of Kashmir- it still stings us,” he said. PM’s statement comes amid degraded ties between India and Pakistan post the abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and its subsequent merger with the territory of India . Days before, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said: “Gilgit-Baltistan and PoK are occupied territory. Pakistan is illegally occupying them.” BJP leaders have been making statements about Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, ever since Article 370 was scrapped. (Additional inputs from PTI)