New Delhi: Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is a part of India, and New Delhi expects to have physical jurisdiction over it one day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
"Our position has, is and will always be very clear on PoK, that it is part of India and we expect one day we will have physical jurisdiction over it," Jaishankar told reporters.
The government has maintained that henceforth talks with Pakistan would be only about PoK and not on Kashmir.
Jaishankar statement follows Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu recent comments in the wake of Pakistan seeking to internationalise the Kashmir issue.
The External Affairs Minister also lashed out at Pakistan for failing to address the problem of cross-border terrorism. He said the neighbouring country would remain a "unique challenge" until it addresses the menace that it harbours and "becomes a normal neighbour".
India's priority will remain its immediate neighbourhood and will entail connectivity, commerce and contacts, Jaishankar added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term with a visit to the Maldives, followed by Sri Lanka and then Bhutan.
India's policy is going to be generous and non-reciprocal, with emphasis on business and people-to-people contact, Jaishankar said.
In these 100 days, there has been a message of change against the backdrop of a strong vote of confidence for the Modi government from the electorate, Jaishankar added.
