Pakistani defence minister, Khawaja Asif, sparked a political row by saying that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government and the Congress-National Conference's pre-poll alliance were on the same page on the issue of restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Asif's controversial remarks come amid the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the first since the Modi government scrapped the erstwhile state's special status in 2019.
“Pakistan and the National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu and Kashmir to restore Article 370,” Asif said during an interview with Geo News, adding that there is a high chance that the alliance would win the Assembly polls and come to power in Jammu and Kashmir.
The first phase of Assembly polls in the Union Territory was held on Wednesday. Two more phases will be held on September 25 and October 1, and the votes will be counted on October 8.
The Congress and National Conference (NC) are contesting the elections in alliance. The Congress is fighting 32 seats, while the NC has fielded candidates for 51 seats.
The NC, in its manifesto, has promised to make efforts to bring back Article 370. However, there is no such mention in the Congress manifesto for Jammu and Kashmir.
The remarks by the Pakistani politician elicited a strong response from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is also contesting the Jammu and Kashmir elections. Modi is addressing two rallies—one in Srinagar and another in Katra—as part of BJP's campaign for the elections.
Party's IT cell head Amit Malviya slammed the Congress-NC alliance after Asif's comments. Malviya questioned why “Rahul Gandhi and his Congress are always seen on the side of those inimical to India’s interest.”
“Pakistan, a terrorist state, endorses Congress and National Conference’s position on Kashmir. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk on Geo News, says, ‘Pakistan and National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu & Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A’. How is it that, from Pannun to Pakistan, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress, are always seen on the side of those inimical to India’s interest?,” Malviya said in a post on X sharing the clip of Asif's interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also reacted by saying the “cat is out of the bag” for those who oppose Modi.
“Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk on Geo News, says, ‘Pakistan and National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu & Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A.’ Was there ever any doubt? Today, the cat is out of the bag for Modi Virodh they can even stand with Pakistan,” the BJP leader said in a post on X.
