'Waiting for return of stolen part': At Chatham House, Jaishankar says most of Kashmir issue is 'solved'

While elucidating the steps taken by the Indian government for the upliftment of Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar said that “the part of Jammu and Kashmir illegally controlled by India’s neighbour Pakistan is the only thing which was left from attaining complete resolution of the issue.”

While speaking at a panel discussion in Chatham House in London, Jaishankar lauded India’s effort to restore growth in economic activity and social justice in Kashmir, as well as to conduct successful elections in the region with a massive voter turnout. The EAM maintained that the parts of Jammu and Kashmir which are illegally occupied by Pakistan are the only things that are left for the complete resolution of the issue.

When asked about the Kashmir issue , Jaiashankar said: “Look in Kashmir actually we have done I think good job solving most of it. I think removing article 370 was step number one. Then, we restore growth, economic activity and social justice in Kashmir. It was step number two, holding elections, which were done with a very high turnout for step number three.”

“I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under the illegal Pakistani occupation. When that’s done, I assure you. Kashmir solved,” he added. The remarks from the foreign affairs minister came a year after Jaishankar said that all Indian political parties remain committed to ensuring that PoK returns to India.

Kashmir remains a national commitment: Jaishankar

While interacting with the students of Delhi University’s Gargi College, Jaishankar made it clear that acquiring PoK will remain a national commitment regardless of the party in power. “All I can say about PoK is that there is a Parliament resolution…every political party of this country is committed to ensuring that POK, which is a part of India, returns to India. That is our national commitment,” he said at that time.

The EAM insisted that the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019 paved the way for people to think about the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as well. “Because we have finally taken the right decision of Article 370, the POK issue has come to the front of people’s thinking. The first pre-requisite for something happening is that it should be in your thoughts,” he said.

While speaking at the event in Cuttack, Odisha, Jaishankar said that PoK has never been out of India. “POK has never been out of this country. It is part of this country. There is a resolution of the Indian Parliament that POK is very much a part of India,” he averred. He maintained that India didn’t tell Pakistan to vacate the region during the “early years of independence”, which eventually led to the “sorry state of affairs” in the region.

With inputs from agencies.