Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah, former union minister, has provoked a major controversy by saying that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir "will remain with Pakistan".
"PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) is in Pakistan and will remain, Jammu and Kashmir is in India and will remain. We need to understand this," Mr Abdullah said today in Jammu.
When pressed to clarify, Mr Abdullah replied: "I have been saying for years that (PoK) is a part of India. But what did you do? Did you take it as a part of India?"
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also said: "War is not the solution, only lives our lost. Dialogue is the only option."
His comment has drawn sharp reactions.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh of the BJP said: "A 1994 Parliament resolution clearly said PoK is constitutionally part of India."
BJP lawmaker RK Singh, a former Home Secretary, said: "This is a bogus statement. It is Pak Occupied Kashmir which is illegally occupied by Pak."
Mr Abdullah's son Omar Abdullah, also a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted: "I'm amazed that the channels are treating my father's views as though they are something he's never said before."
Mr Abdullah made the comments while responding to questions on the controversy over Aamir Khan's "leaving India" comments.
"When did he say that he wants to leave the country? I was myself sitting there. It is a wrong propaganda against him. He never said that he wants to leave India, he (Aamir) said that India is my country. I am born from this soil and I will die in this soil," Mr Abdullah said.