Court orders FIR against Farooq Abdullah on charges of treason for 'PoK belonged to Pakistan' remarks

Patna: A Bihar court on Saturday ordered filing of an FIR against National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah on charges of treason for his comments on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister on November 11 claimed that PoK belonged to Pakistan and that "this will not change", no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fought against each other.

"Both India and Pakistan must sit together with the people of both parts of Kashmir and work out internal autonomy for both parts within the existing borders,” Abdullah had said.

The court order came on a petition filed by a lawyer in Bettiah district.

Abdullah's remarks had kicked up storm with the BJP and its NDA allies reacting sharply against it.

His statement came days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had rejected the idea of an "independent Kashmir", saying it was not based on "reality".

Earlier, Abdullah had said he does not have any expectations from newly-appointed J&K interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma and the only way forward in Kashmir is restoration of autonomy to the state.

Notably, the separatist leaders like the Hurriyat hawk Syed Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and others have been asking the Indian government to involve Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday asserted that entire Kashmir, including the areas occupied by Pakistan, was an integral part of India.

"We have always held that Kashmir is an integral part of India. This has been our unequivocal stand on the issue. We hold that the whole of Kashmir, including the areas occupied by Pakistan, is an integral part of the country," he told reporters on the sidelines of his weekly "Lok Samvad" (public interaction) programme.