Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday responded to recent remarks made by Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif regarding a possible strike on Kolkata. He said Pakistan should “forget about the dream of reaching Kolkata” and advised them to focus on improving relations instead of worsening ties.
Speaking to mediapersons, Omar said "It hasn't even been a year since Operation Sindoor was completed...Forget about Kolkata, they barely reached Jammu. They should forget about the dream of reaching Kolkata. It would be better for them to somehow try to improve relations rather than further worsen them, because bad relations don't harm us as much as they do."
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also strongly reacted to Khawaja Asif’s remarks on Tuesday. He said such provocative statements should be avoided and reminded that Pakistan had faced serious consequences in the past when the country was divided into two parts.
Rajnath Singh said "Pakistan's Defence Minister should not have given such a provocative statement. 55 years ago, they suffered the consequences when Pakistan was divided into two parts. If they try to cast an eye on Bengal, only God knows how many parts Pakistan will be divided into this time.”
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said on Saturday that Islamabad would retaliate by striking Kolkata if India carried out any future misadventure.
The remarks also triggered political reactions within India. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee criticised the Central government on Monday, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of lacking the courage to strongly condemn Khawaja Asif’s reported threat against Kolkata.
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