Jammu and Kashmir includes PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan: Army chief

New Delhi : Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Friday that when India refers to Jammu and Kashmir, it also includes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, which are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.

General Rawat was delivering a lecture her at the Manekshaw Auditorium. "When we say Jammu and Kashmir, the complete state of Jammu and Kashmir includes PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. Therefore, PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan becomes an occupied territory, a territory which has been illegally occupied by our western neighbour," he said.

Rawat further said that the PoK area is not under the control of the Pakistani establishment but is being controlled by terrorists and it is for this reason that Pakistan has upped its ante against India after abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"Article 370 was brought in, and there itself, in sub-para 3, it is very clearly mentioned that it is temporary in nature. When Article 370 was introduced with the word 'temporary', there was no objection from Pakistan. Article 370 in itself has been amended twice where the leadership of Jammu and Kashmir was designated as Sadr-e-Riyasat, later on the prime minister and then the chief minister.