External Affairs Minister Jaishankar says until Pak becomes a normal state, India will face cross-border terrorism
S Jaishankar
New Delhi: Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of India and New Delhi expects to have physical jurisdiction over it one day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. "Our position has, is and will always be very clear on PoK, that it is part of India and we expect one day we will have physical jurisdiction over it," he said while addressing the 100-day press conference of the Ministry of External Affairs.'
Asserting that India's position on Kashmir has been clear since 1972 and is not going to change, he said, "beyond a point, don't worry too much about what people will say on Kashmir. There is a complete predictability about my position... At the end of the day, it is my issue. On my issue, my position has prevailed and will prevail." The government has maintained henceforth talks with Pakistan will be only about PoK and not Kashmir.
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'Issue with Pak is terrorism'
Jaishankar said that the "issue" with Pakistan is "terrorism" and not Article 370. "Article 370 is internal to India and there's no change to it. With Pakistan, terrorism is the issue. Name any country that openly conducts terrorism against its neighbour as part of its so-called foreign policy. Until the terrorism issue is resolved relations cannot be normal and it has become the root cause of the state's relationship," he told reporters. "We have a unique challenge from one neighbour. Until cross border terrorism is successfully stopped. Until that neighbour becomes a normal state that will remain a challenge. "The world community has to recognise that," Jaishankar stressed.
On Indo-US relations
Jaishankar said the "trajectory" of the relationship between India and the US has been "upwards" amid various administrations in Washington, be it Bush, Obama and now Trump.
Responding to a question on commerce, he said the trade problem between the two countries is "normal". He said the Indo-US relations are in very good health. "There is no facet of the relationship today which has not gone upward over the period of 20 years," he said.
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