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Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. (Image: PTI)
The Congress and national conference are in an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir elections, the results for which will be out on October 8
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday slammed the Congress-National Conference alliance for their remarks on restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir after the Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif backed the allies over their stance on J&K’s special status.
The controversy erupted after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif during an interview with Geo News said that the Shehbaz Sharif government and the Congress-National Conference alliance are on the same page on the issue of restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Pakistan and the National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu and Kashmir to restore Article 370,” Asif said during the interview. He also added that there is a “high chance” that the Congress-National Conference alliance would win the Assembly polls and come to power in the Union Territory.
The remarks of the Pakistani minister came in the midst of Assembly elections in J&K, the first since the erstwhile state’s special status was scrapped in 2019. Notably, Asif’s comments were made in response to the Congress and National Conference alliance in the Jammu and Kashmir polls, the results for which will be out on October 8.
BJP Slams Congress-NC Alliance
Slamming the alliance, BJP accused the Congress and National Conference of standing with Pakistan and exemplified the instances of surgical strike, Balakote and Pulwama. “Today the cat is out of the bag for Modi Virodh, they can even stand with Pakistan,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
Row Over Restoration Of Article 370
On August 5, 2019, the government announced in Parliament the nullification of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with an Assembly and Ladakh without one.
The government back then said that the statehood of J&K would be restored at the appropriate time, an assertion that has been reiterated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah time and again.
Recently, at a rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda ahead of the crucial J&K polls, Union Amit Shah again mentioned that the government is committed to restoring J&K’s statehood.
