PoK issue should have been decided during 1971 Indo-Pak war: Rajnath

shimla: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should have been decided during the 1971 war between India and the neighbouring country.

The defence minister said this while addressing a function to honour martyrs' families at Badoli in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

"We have recently marked the Golden Jubilee of victory of 1971 war. The 1971 war will be remembered in the history as the war fought for the humanity instead of property, possession or power," Singh said.

"There is only one regret. The issue of PoK should have been decided at that time itself," he said. Singh also attended a similar function at Nadaun in Hamirpur district. In Kangra, Singh also shed light on the Centre's unwavering resolve to make the country 'Aatmanirbhar' and the progress achieved due to the measures taken to realise the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.

"Earlier, India was known as a defence importer. Today, it is among one of the top 25 defence exporters in the world. From about Rs 900 crore eight years ago, defence exports have crossed Rs 13,000 crore. We are hopeful that the defence exports will touch Rs 35,000 crore by 2025 and the target of Rs 2.7 lakh crore set for 2047 will be met, he said.

While maintaining that India has never attacked any country, nor has it captured an inch of foreign land, he assured the nation that if any attempt is ever made to disturb the harmony in India, a befitting reply will be given. "India is a peace-loving country, but it should not be mistaken with being coward or afraid of war. At a time when we were dealing with COVID-19, we had to face the tension on the northern border with China. The courage of our soldiers during the Galwan incident proved that no matter how big the power is, India will never bow down, he said. Singh said that the formation of the post of 'chief of defence staff' and setting up of the department of military affairs are some of the major reforms taken to bolster the national security. "Doors of National Defence Academy have been opened for girls, while women in the Armed Forces are being given permanent commission. We have also allowed deployment of women on warships, he said.

Singh stressed that the government is building a 'New India', which will give a sense of security and trust to all our peace-loving friendly countries and those with evil intentions will get nothing but dust.

On the 2016 surgical strikes and 2019 Balakot air strikes, the defence minister stated that India's new strategy against terrorism has broken the backs of those who try to hurt the unity and integrity of the nation.

After the Uri and Pulwama attacks, our government and the Armed Forces, through the 2016 surgical strikes and 2019 Balakot air strikes, displayed to the world India's unwavering commitment to root out terrorism, he said.