NEW DELHI: PoK was, is and will be a part of India, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday.
"A great achievement was the abrogation of Article 370. The NDA believes that Kashmir should be integrated with India. Some protests are taking place in PoK. The Parliament has passed a resolution and PoK was, is and will be a part of India. Our intention is to get back PoK and integrate it with India," said Jaishankar in Mumbai.
PoK has been hit by protests since May 10, with locals demanding independence and some even seeking integration with India.
Jaishankar also said that the opposition thought otherwise as Farooq Abdullah said Pakistan has nuclear weapons so we should not talk of PoK.
Regarding Pakistan, he said it is clear that its past actions like support for terrorism have come back to haunt it.
"We will also continue with CAA, as it is in the interest of India. Minorities from neighbouring countries have to be protected and earlier governments paid no heed," he added.
Meanwhile, talking about the India-EU FTA, he said it was a complex issue. "We will try to take it forward. We are serious about pushing for it. Going into the next term, it would be a priority," he said, adding that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has done a lot to give a push to other trade agreements.
Jaishankar also spoke about seeking trade settlements with the rupee. "There is today in many countries a shortage of hard currencies. They are willing to buy goods but currency has become an obstacle. We need to give countries more options, and settlements in each other's currencies is very sensible,’’ he said.
Regarding Khalistani supporters in Canada, he said, "We have an issue with the US and Canada as they give latititude with what they call freedom of speech. Freedom of speech should not advocate or support terrorism or violence."
