Destroy terror camps being run in PoK, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tells Pakistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh came down heavily on Pakistan, claiming that the neighbouring country is using Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to "run the business of terrorism."

Reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir is incomplete without PoK, the defence minister noted that PoK is nothing more than a foreign territory for Pakistan. He was speaking at the 9th Armed Forces Veterans' Day event in Akhnoor of Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister lamented that the people living in PoK are deprived of dignified life and said efforts are being made by Pakistan to mislead and provoke them against India in the name of religion.

Singh asked Pakisan to destroy terrorist camps being run in Pakistan. “Training camps for terrorists are running and launch pads have been built in the areas adjacent to the border. The Indian government is well aware of the situation. Pakistan will have to put an end to its nefarious designs.”

His remarks appear to be a response to the recent claims of Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq who accused India of plotting terror activities in the region.

Pakistan has been promoting illegal infiltration and terrorism since 1965, Singh claimed, and said, "The war between India and Pakistan was fought in Akhnoor in 1965. India succeeded in thwarting the efforts of the Pakistani army...India has always defeated Pakistan in all the wars fought in history."

The defence minister noted that more than more than 80 per cent of the terrorists entering India are from Pakistan. "Cross-border terrorism would have ended in 1965 itself, but the then central government was unable to convert the tactical advantage gained in the war into a strategic advantage," he said.