Jitendra Singh flays Farooq Abdullah for his statement on PoK

Kathua: Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh on Saturday flayed the statement of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah that "PoK is part of Pakistan".

"How did the National Conference (NC) leader forget that when the Indian Parliament unanimously passed the resolution in 1994 stating that the only outstanding dispute with Pakistan was about the PoK and how to reclaim it, his party MP had supported that resolution", Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

He said that cutting across party lines all the political parties including Congress, BJP and National Conference had supported the resolution.

Replying to queries about the reported demand in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) of joining India, Abdullah had yesterday said, "It will never happen. It (PoK) is part of Pakistan and will remain a part of Pakistan. This (Jammu and Kashmir) is India's part and will remain a part of India..."

The Union Minister said that 10,000 acres of land has been identified in Kathua district to provide plots to border residents.

"There are some administrative hiccups and I have taken up the issue with the authorities concerned. I am hopeful that the issues would be resolved soon," Singh said.