Pakistan Rejects Indian Statement Declaring 'Readiness' to Take Back PoJK

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that Delhi’s goal is to reclaim Kashmiri territories “under illegal occupation of Pakistan” last month.

The Pakistani military has reacted sharply to an Indian Army General's recent comments concerning Kashmir.

Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, the head of Indian Army’s Jammu and Kashmir-based Northern Command, stated that his country's forces would “always be ready” for a military operation to take back the part of Kashmir under Pakistan control should New Delhi’s political leadership issue such orders.

He also argued that the Indian Parliament already passed a resolution back in 1984 which clearly states India’s resolve to reclaim areas under “Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK)".

Pakistan-administered Kashmir comprises the regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan — the regions classified as “occupied territory” by New Delhi.

A statement released by the Pakistani Army’s media wing on Thursday urged the Indian Army to abstain from “irresponsible rhetoric and vitriolic communication to shore up electoral support."

It further castigated the Indian general for having a “delusional mindset” on taking back control of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“The Indian general officer’s lofty claims and surreal ambition is intellectually insulting,” the statement read.

It also claimed that Pakistani forces possess the capability and are prepared to “thwart any misadventure or aggression against our territory."

Both India and Pakistan have controlled separate parts of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947when both countries gained independence from Britain. They have since fought three wars over Kashmir.

At the time, Jammu and Kashmir was among hundreds of states given the option of joining either India or Pakistan.

Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, signed an "Instrument of Accession" with New Delhi in October 1947 following an invasion by Islamist militants ailing to take control of the entire Muslim-majority region.

Soon after the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian forces landed in Jammu and Kashmir to repel the invasion, leading to the creation of the ceasefire boundary, or the Line of Control (LoC), between the two states.