NEW DELHI: Newly appointed Indian Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane on Saturday said that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) is an integral part of India as per the resolution of the Indian Parliament and that if ordered to retrieve the area, the Army will take appropriate action.
“There is a parliamentary resolution that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants it, then, PoK also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we’ll take appropriate action,” the Army chief said, reports ANI.
The Army chief was responding to a question on if PoK can be a part of India as stated by the political leadership.
Recently, in an interview with a news channel, Gen. MM Naravane said the Army was ready to conduct larger-scale operations in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir “should that be the mandate”, reports India Today.
In the months following the scrapping of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state’s special status, current and former Indian government ministers have publicly floated the idea of reclaiming PoK.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in September that Pok “is a part of India”, and “we expect one day we will have physical jurisdiction over it.”
(Agencies)
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