NEW DELHI – After Indian Army Chief threatening statement against Pakistan,Indian defence minister gives new warning.
India’s Deputy Minister of Defence on Tuesday backed a recent statement bythe country’s Army Chieflinksayingthe armed forces would take steps to reclaim Pakistan-controlled Kashmir ifit received orders from the government to do so.
Deputy Minister of Defence Shripad Naik supported Chief of Army StaffGeneral Manoj Mukund Naravane’s first statement to the media after assumingcharge of his office on 31 December 2019.
“That is their (army’s) zeal. His (General Naravane’s) statement is notinappropriate. The government will give due consideration to this thought,”the ANI news agency quoted Minister Naik as saying.
General Naravane had said that Indian security forces were ready to takeappropriate action to gain control over the Pakistani side of Kashmirlink.His statement came five months after India’s External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar said he expected India to gain physical control over thePakistan-administered part of the Kashmir region one day.
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“There is a parliamentary resolution that the entirety of Jammu and Kashmiris a part of India. If Parliament wants it, then that area (Pakistanadministered Kashmir) also should belong to us. When we get orders to thateffect, we’ll take appropriate action,” General Naravane told media in NewDelhi on 11 January.
“The Line of Control (LoC), the military-controlled de-facto border thatseparates India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, is very active and theIndian armed forces assess all intelligence alerts related to that part ofthe country very seriously,” Naravane said.
The Pakistan government is yet to react officially to General Naravane’sstatement, though the Information Minister of Pakistan-controlled KashmirMushtaq Minhaslinkrespondedwith a “We are waiting” tweet, Sputnik has reported.
