PoK a thorn in India's flesh since 1947: IAF chief
02 Sep 2016
Hitting out at Pakistan, Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha on Thursday recalled the 1947 era, saying raiders supported by military and the government across the border tried to overrun Jammu and Kashmir.
Giving further details on the Pakistan-backed raid, the IAF chief said a large number of troops, military equipment, weapons and logistics were brought into many areas of J&K in 1947.
The IAF played a great role in stopping the advancing raiders, Raha added.
''At that time we went to the United Nations for a peaceful solution; it was out of moral high ground. But the problem still continues and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir remains a thorn in our flesh even today,'' Raha asserted.
Raha's statement comes at a time when the PoK region has been witnessing huge protests. The locals in large numbers regularly hit the streets to protest against the Pakistani establishment and its Army.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, had advocated freedom for PoK and Balochistan, which unnerved Islamabad.
The Pakistan Army had launched Operation Gulmarg in early October 1947 using tribals to annex J&K.
On 22 October 1947, about 5,000 tribals, supported by Pakistan Army, invaded the Kashmir Valley from Abbottabad. Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of the state, signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947, thus making Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India, and the Indian Army was thereafter ordered to evict the invaders.