Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee on Friday said that any future dialogue between India and Pakistan should centre on the reclamation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Speaking at an event with Indian business and community leaders in Jakarta, Banerjee accused Pakistan of portraying itself as a victim on the global stage while engaging in duplicity.
In a separate appeal, Banerjee encouraged members of the Indian diaspora to extend their next visit to India by spending an additional three days in Jammu and Kashmir with their families.
“We have been engaging in talks with Pakistan for the last 50 years. We come from the land of Rabindranath Tagore and Gautam Buddha. We will be the last ones to talk about war. But this time, when our government engages in dialogue with Pakistan, I want the government—and I request all Indians—to agree with me that our approach should be that we talk about reclaiming PoK, where terror attacks were planned and terror infrastructure operated to inflict bloodshed and harm on Indians,” Banerjee said.
“Next time you visit India, my humble appeal to all of you is this: extend your trip by three more days. In those additional three days, make sure you and your family dedicate that time to visiting Kashmir — for the betterment of Kashmir tourism and the Indian economy,” he said.
Banerjee added: “Pakistan is trying to play the victim—acting as both the arsonist and the firefighter at the same time. It is now our responsibility to expose Pakistan before the world. We’ve seen that almost all major terror links trace back to Pakistan—whether it was 9/11 or 26/11.
The likes of Hafiz Saeed, Osama bin Laden and terror camps like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), among others — all have ties to Pakistan. Pakistan tries to show the world that it is engaging in peace talks while simultaneously pulling the trigger with the other hand. Terror and talks cannot go together.”
Speaking about cross-border terrorism, he mentioned: “Cross-border terrorism has become a global imperative and we all need to raise our voices; whether you are a student or a professional in any distinguished field, you must expose our neighbour,
Pakistan, which has been nurturing, harbouring and shielding terrorists to hatch and execute terror plots against us. There is ample proof available for the world to see.”