File photo of Bilawal Butto Zardari
India today termed as "far from reality" comment of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that his party will get back entire Kashmir from it and asserted the integrity and unity of the country was "non-negotiable".
"We are in the process of looking forward and looking forward does not mean that our borders will be changed. We made it very clear that as far as we are concerned, the integrity and unity of India is non-negotiable," Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said.
He said the comment was "far from reality which takes us back into the past century".
The BJP described the comments as "immature" and "childish" and said Kashmir would always remain an integral part of India.
"Kashmir is very much a part of India and will remain so. Any discussion on it is not acceptable to us. Kashmir resides in the hearts of Indians," said BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.
The party said that Pakistani leaders are known for making such provocative statements and India's security forces are capable of protecting its territory and give a fitting reply to Pakistan, as it has in the past.
"The statement by Bilawal Bhutto is very immature and childish. Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so. Any attempt to eye Kashmir will be dealt with sternly as India is capable of protecting its territory," said BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma.
Party Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Pakistani politicians have always tried to make Kashmir a "parachute" of their politics.
The Congress too slammed the remarks. "He is a youth, his 70 generations had the dream to capture Kashmir. He will have to keep waiting for another 70 generations. He underestimates the might of India," Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed said.
Bilawal, considered the 'Gen-Next' politician of Pakistan, had told his party's workers in Multan on Friday that PPP would get back Kashmir from India.
"I will take back Kashmir, all of it, and I will not leave behind a single inch of it because, like the other provinces, it belongs to Pakistan," the scion of the highly influential Bhutto family had said. Former Pakistan prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Asharaf were present at his side when Bilawal made those comments.
Bilawal's mother Benazir Bhutto was twice elected prime minister while his maternal grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who founded PPP in 1967, had also served as prime minister in the 1970s.
Bilawal's father Asif Ali Zardari was Pakistan president from 2008 to 2013.