New Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in his speech on Independence Day, mentioned the situation in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Umar said, when I see the situation on the other side of the LOC today, I realize that the decision taken by our leaders 80 years ago for us was absolutely right. Those who gave the slogan 'Beware the attackers' were right and their sacrifices were completely justified. Today, when we see the situation in Jammu and Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC), there is sadness, regret and deep pain.
Omar further said that that part of Jammu and Kashmir is ours. We consider those people as our own, none of them are strangers or outsiders. Even today, seats are reserved for them in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, in the hope that someday they will be able to sit and use those vacant seats. The two biggest strengths of our country are our democracy and our federalism. It is our biggest responsibility to protect democracy, strengthen it and keep it alive in every situation. At the same time, it is our duty to protect and strengthen federalism in the country, from which we cannot back down.
Jammu Kashmir CM said, I think that if our situation had not changed in 2019, then perhaps the people of Jammu and Kashmir of that area (PoK) would have been protesting today to rejoin us. This statement of Omar Abdullah has come at a time when the situation in PoK is very bad. Innocent people demanding their rights are being brutally tortured by the Pakistani Army. In the last few days, many innocent civilians of PoK have become victims of army and police firing.