POK is the illegal occupation of Pakistan: Rajnath Singh

Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that Pakistan should focus on human rights violation meted out to the citizens of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

“There was never any doubt or apprehension in the country that Kashmir is an integral part of India. The truth is that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan should focus on human rights violation of PoK citizens,” tweeted Singh, who is in Ladakh as chief guest at the Kisan Vigyan Mela organised by the Leh-based Defence Institute of Higher Altitude Research.

“Pakistan does not have any locus standi on Kashmir. On the other hand, it has illegally occupied PoK. The Indian Parliament unanimously passed a resolution in 1994 that made India’s position absolutely clear,” he said in another tweet.

The Defence Minister is scheduled to review security preparedness in the region in the light of threats from Pakistan during his visit.

This is his first visit to Ladakh after it was carved out as a union territory from the state of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month.

“I want to ask Pakistan as to when it was in possession of Kashmir? And Pakistan too has also been created out of India. We respect the existence of Pakistan and it does not mean that Pakistan can continuously go on making indiscriminate remarks about India,” he tweeted.