Akola:

Integrating the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) into India and reclaiming the land captured by China in 1962 would have become feasible had the NDA won 400 plus seats in Lok Sabha elections, Union minister and Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav claimed on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long harboured the dream of adding PoK to India’s map, he said while speaking at a felicitation event organised by the Mahayuti alliance in Akola.

“Despite PoK being an integral part of India, it remains under Pakistan’s control. India also aims to reclaim the land captured by China during the 1962 war. Had more than 400 seats been won (by NDA in recent Lok Sabha polls), a two-thirds majority would have been achieved, making these aspirations feasible,” the MoS for AYUSH and Public Health and Family Welfare said.

The Buldhana MP alleged a false propaganda was spread that the Constitution would be changed if Modi returned to power.

He said the Constitution could not be altered and recalled the 1975 emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi as the real instance of constitutional subversion. 
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

At least 45 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Gaza’s Rafah on Sunday, prompting global outrage against the Netanyahu government. Soon after, multiple social media users, including celebrities, shared an image displaying the words “All eyes on Rafah,” in solidarity with the victims of the airstrike. While the trend gained momentum on social media, several Indian celebrities received backlash for posting the viral image.

Against this backdrop, an alleged screengrab of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Instagram story stating “All Eyes on PoK” has gone viral online. However, Newschecker found that the image was fabricated and that there was no evidence to show that the PM had posted any such story.

As the BJP eyes its third term at the centre, multiple top leaders of the party have vouched for the integration of PoK- Pakistan Occupied Kashmir with India if voted to power. In a recent rally, Home Minister Amit Shah affirmed that PoK is a part of India, and “we will take it back.”

Fact Check/Verification

We skimmed through the social media accounts of the Prime Minister but did not spot the widely circulated image.

On a close look at the alleged screengrab from PM Modi’s Instagram story, we noticed that the template was used 12.4 million times on the platform. However, we did not spot any such template listed on Instagram.

No News Reports On PM Modi’s Alleged Instagram Story

A keyword search for “All Eyes On PoK,” and “PM Modi” did not yield any credible news reports suggesting that such an image was shared on Narendra Modi’s social media profile. The image, if authentic, would have been a major news event, prompting strong reactions by the opposition.

The government’s PIB and DD News did not report on any such story by the PM as well.

While there is no mention of any such post by PM Modi in the media, YouTuber Elvish Yadav is making the headlines for posting an image saying “All eyes on PoK.” “The popular YouTuber, known for his strong views on Hinduism, has now taken to social media to oppose the ‘All eyes on Rafah’ trend. Instead, he shared a similar template with the caption ‘All eyes on POK,’ referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” reported Times of India.

Tracing The Origins

A Google lens search on the viral image led us to multiple posts by meme handles sharing the alleged screenshot of the PM’s Instagram story.

The phrases “All eyes on PoK,” and “Narendra Modi” were first found on X in the comment section of a post by @Incognito_qfs at 10:09 PM on May 28. 

The image was likely created by X user @Incognito_qfs taking inspiration from a comment on his post “calling out celebrities” by sharing the “All eyes on Rafah” image.

The image was also shared on the Instagram handle of @Incognito_qfs later on May 29. We also spotted another image based on the same template on the Instagram account. It showed a fabricated screengrab from Rahul Gandhi’s story, stating “All eyes on Thailand.”

‘All Eyes On Rafah’ Template Distorted Repeatedly On Social Media

As the ‘All Eyes on Rafah” trend created a buzz on social media platforms, we noticed several Indian users sharing altered versions of the original template introduced in solidarity with the victims of Rafah.  While some modified it to show “All eyes on PoK,” others linked it to “Kashi,” “Mathura” and even “Modi 3.0”.

Conclusion
We could thus conclude that the viral image claiming to show PM Modi’s Instagram story is fabricated. There is no evidence to suggest that the PM posted any image saying “All eyes on PoK.”

Result: False

(This story was originally published by NewsChecker, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective.)

At least three people were killed and six others injured when security forces opened fire on protesters during clashes with paramilitary Rangers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarabad which has been rocked by protests against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills, a media report said on May 14

The paramilitary Rangers, which were called in to maintain law and order in the disputed region, came under attack while moving out of the region, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Instead of exiting via Brarkot, the village bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the 19-vehicle convoy, including five trucks, chose to exit the region from Kohala, it said.

As the convoy reached Muzaffarabad in a “charged atmosphere”, it was pelted with rocks near Shorran da Nakka village, to which they responded with teargas and firing, the report said.

After entering the city through the Western Bypass, the Rangers were welcomed with rocks again, prompting them to use teargas and bullets. The shelling was so intense that the entire neighbourhood reeled from it, the report said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on May 13 approved a Pakistani rupee 23 billion subsidy for immediate release to the region after the negotiations between the protesters and the regional Government ended in a deadlock.

However, the Government’s decision to dole out the subsidy failed to pacify the region, the report said.

The disputed region also witnessed clashes on May 11 between the police and activists of a rights movement, leaving at least one police officer dead and injuring over 100 people, mostly Policemen. A complete strike has also been observed in the territory since May 10, bringing life to a halt.

Shortly before the violence, Prime Minister Sharif and the disputed region’s ‘Prime Minister’ Anwarul Haq after a meeting had approved the release of Pakistani Rs 23 billion for the region on account of power and wheat subsidies.

The subsidised rate for 40kg flour will be Pakistani Rs 2,000, down from Pakistani Rs 3,100. The electricity tariff was reduced to Pakistani Rs 3, Rs 5 and Rs 6 per unit for up to 100, 300, and more than 300 units, respectively, the Dawn reported.

The protest is led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has traders at the forefront in most parts of the region, who have been seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in the region, subsidised wheat flour and an end to the privileges of the elite class.

A long march led by the JAAC left for Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, on May 13 as the wheel-jam strike entered its fourth day.

The movement announced its march on Muzaffarabad after the talks between the JAAC core committee and Chief Secretary of the region Dawood Bareach ended in a stalemate.

Expressing deep concern over the violent clashes between the Police and the protesters, Prime Minister Sharif on May 12 said that there should be “absolutely no tolerance for taking the law into one’s own hands”.

“I urge all parties to resort to a peaceful course of action for resolution of their demands. Despite the best efforts of detractors, the matter will hopefully be settled soon,” he said.

As part of his efforts to calm down tensions, President Asif Ali Zardari urged all the stakeholders to exercise restraint and resolve the issues through dialogue and mutual consultation.

Srinagar/New Delhi:

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been hit by civilian unrest and a massive crackdown has been launched by the authorities to quell protests that have spread across the occupied region.

A police officer was killed and 90 others were injured in fresh clashes on Saturday.

The protests that started against inflation, high taxation, and electricity shortage have turned into a movement for rights and freedom across PoK.

Protesters have been shouting slogans for “azadi (freedom)”. They clashed with police and security agencies in Muzaffarabad and others districts.

The protests are spearheaded by Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, with traders are on the forefront.

Dozens of leaders and members of the Action Committee have been arrested after they called the strike on Friday.

“There is going to be a complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strike observed across PoK and specifically in Muzaffarabad against the police brutality against our peaceful protesters in Dadyal,” said Saukat Nawaz Mir, chairman of the Traders Association Muzaffarabad and member of the Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, news agency IANS reported.

“I call on everyone to come out today and raise your voice for your rights,” he added as videos of locals demanding freedom from the Pakistani establishment went viral.

The committee had staged a similar protest in August 2023 as well.

“We reject imposition of taxes on electricity bills. Instead, we demand that electricity should be provided to consumers in accordance with the production cost of hydel power in the region,” said Shaukat Nawaz Mir.

On May 5, emphasising that PoK has always been a part of India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said the “very sorry state of affairs” has continued because the earlier governments did not ensure Pakistan vacated the region after Independence.

“PoK has never been out of this country. It has always been a part of this country. There is a resolution of the Indian parliament that PoK is very much a part of India. Now, how did other people get control? Ab ho jaata hai (it happens) when you have someone who is not a responsible custodian of a house, an outsider will come and steal something,” Mr Jaishankar said during an interactive session in Odisha’s Cuttack.

“Here you have allowed another country… It was because we did not pursue the vacation of Pakistan from these territories in the early years of Independence that this very sorry state of affairs has continued. What will happen in the future is very difficult to tell. But, I always tell people one thing that today PoK is in the consciousness once again of the people of India. We had forgotten about it, we were made to forget about it, but it is back now, definitely,” he added.

It was not the first time Mr Jaishankar blamed the previous Congress governments for several problems that had emerged on the foreign policy front, post Independence. A week earlier in Hyderabad, he told a gathering that Sardar Patel had opposed India approaching the UN on the Kashmir issue, but India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru disregarded it.

With inputs from IANS

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that every political party in the country is “committed to ensuring that PoK (apkistan-Occupied Kashmir), which is a part of India, returns to India,” and that “the PoK issue has come to the front of people’s thinking” after revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which was considered a difficult decision.

Interacting with students at the Gargi College, the minister said people assumed Article 370 could not be changed as the politics of the day had driven it deeply into the public consciousness.

Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was scrapped by the BJP-led government in August 2019.

“Take even (Article) 370, people just assume 370 cannot be changed and this is something we have to accept because the politics of the day have driven it very deeply into public consciousness. Now we see, once we change it then the entire ground situation changes,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“All I can say with respect to PoK (is) that there is a parliament resolution. Every political party of this country is committed to ensure PoK, which is a part of India, returns to India. This actually is our national commitment but I do want to say one thing. I didn’t get people asking us about this ten years ago, or even five years ago. It is when we have put 370 to rest, now people understand, yes PoK is also important,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar said the prerequisite for something happening is it must be in your thoughts.

“What has happened today is that because we have finally taken the right decision on 370, in the minds of our own people today, the PoK issue has come to the front. As they say, the first prerequisite for something happening is first it must be in your thoughts. once it is in your thoughts, the rest will certainly happen at some point,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the deteriorating economic situation in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, political and human rights organizations have invoked a long march and called for a sit-in on May 11 to raise the issues faced by the locals in Muzaffarabad in PoJK.

The United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) and Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), in a joint statement released earlier, announced that the march will raise issues like skyrocketing inflation, severe unemployment, revocation of subsidies on wheat and flour, unjustified load shedding, exploitation of PoJK’s natural resources and special and unjust privileges being given to the civil bureaucracy in PoJK.

Stressing that people have not received their wages and pensions, Amjad Ayub Mirza, a PoJK activist said, “And now to sabotage the sit-in, the Pakistani administration has ordered the puppet PM of PoK Chaudhry Anwarul Haq to issue a request for the deployment of Punjab province police and frontal corps in PoJK.

New Delhi:

India will never give up its claim on Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) but it won’t have to capture it with force because its people, on their own, would want to be part of India after seeing the development in Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, Singh asserted that the ground situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir and that a time will come when AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) will no longer be required in the Union Territory.

The defence minister, however, said the matter is under the domain of the Union Home Ministry and it will take appropriate decisions. He said elections will also be held there definitely, but wouldn’t give a timeline.

“I think India will not have to do anything. The way the ground situation has changed in Jammu and Kashmir, the way the region is witnessing economic progress and the way peace has returned there, I think demands will emerge from people of PoK that they should merge with India,” he said.

“We will not have to use force to take PoK as people would say that we must be merged with India. Such demands are now coming,” he said. The defence minister asserted that “PoK was, is, and will remain ours”.

Citing improvement in the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said assembly elections will be held there soon, but did not give a timeline.

“The way the situation is improving in Jammu and Kashmir, I think a time will come when AFSPA will no longer be required there. It is my view and it is for the Home Ministry to decide on it,” he said.

The AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant. It also gives immunity to the forces if they shoot someone dead.

The defence minister, referring to Pakistan’s proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir, said Islamabad must stop cross border terrorism. “They are trying to destabilise India and we will not allow it to happen,” he said.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019 announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)