After Nuke Threat, Rajnath Talks Tough Again, Says India Will Discuss Only PoK With Pakistan

The Defence Minister also said that Imran Khan's speech in PoK shows that Pakistan acknowledges India's airstrikes in Balakot

Updated: August 18, 2019 12:41 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Karan Manral

After Nuke Threat, Rajnath Talks Tough Again, Says India Will Discuss Only PoK With Pakistan
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Panchkula (Image Credit: ANI)

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday continued to talk tough on Pakistan, just days after he triggered controversy with his comments on India’s ‘No First Use’ (NFU) nuclear doctrine.

Speaking at a rally in Panchkula, Haryana, Rajnath, who was the Union Home Minister in the first Narendra Modi government, he said that Article 370 was scrapped for the development of Jammu & Kashmir and slammed Pakistan for knocking the doors of the international community over India’s revocation of the same.

He further said that talks with Pakistan will happen only when it stops supporting terror. He added that even if talks happen, India will only talk about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

The Defence Minister also said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s words on Balakot in the legislative assembly of PoK on August 14, the Independence Day of Pakistan. Speaking in the legislative assembly, the Pakistan PM had said that India is planning to take an action bigger than Balakot, which, Rajnath said, means that Pakistan acknowledges airstrikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in February.

The IAF action came in retaliation to the February 14 Pulwama suicide attack in which over 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed. The attack was claimed by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Earlier, while talking in Pokhran on August 16, Rajnath had triggered a controversy when he said that though India has followed a strict NFU policy thus far, ‘circumstances’ will determine how this policy is used in the future. The remark also drew a response from Pakistan, which said that the remark shows India’s irresponsible and belligerent behaviour.

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