New Delhi: Speaking at an event organised to commemorate ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ in Jammu on July 24, Defence Minister Rajnath asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was, is and shall always remain an integral part of India.
PoK is that part of the Jammu and Kashmir that was unlawfully occupied by Pakistan in 1947. The Indian Government’s consistent and principled position on PoK, as also enunciated in the Parliament resolution adopted unanimously by both Houses on February 22, 1994, is that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall be an integral part of India.
While replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on March 11, 2022, the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V. Muraleedharan stressed that India has “consistently called upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal and forcible occupation”.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS to know people’s opinion about the steps India should initiate to take back PoK. During the survey, a whopping majority of respondents – 83 per cent stressed that the time has come for India to add PoK to Indian Territory.
However, only 17 per cent of respondents disagreed with the sentiment. Taking back PoK is one issue which reflected unanimity in the opinion of the majority of both the NDA voters and opposition supporters. During the survey, 90 per cent NDA voters and 77 per cent opposition voters stated that it is the right time to make PoK part of Indian territory both geographically and politically.
During the survey, the majority of respondents from different social groups echoed similar views. As per survey data, 85 per cent Upper Caste Hindus (UCH), 84 per cent Scheduled Tribes (ST), 82 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC), 77 per cent Scheduled Castes (SC) and 75 per cent Muslims opined that it is the appropriate time to make PoK part of India.
–IANS
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