Pakistani police on Tuesday removed several pro-India banners that appeared in parts of the country’s capital Islamabad, including in the high-security Red Zone, PTI reported. The banners came after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and bifurcated the state into two Union territories.
Police arrested one person in connection with the banners from Islamabad’s Blue Area late on Tuesday. One of the banners carried a quote of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut: “Aaj Jammu-Kashmir liya hai, kal Balochistan, PoK lenge. Mujhe vishwas hai desh ke PM Akhand Hindustan ka sapna poora karenge [Today, we took Jammu and Kashmir, tomorrow we will take Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. I am sure Prime Minister Modi will make the dream of undivided India come true].”
Another banner carried a map envisioning “Akhand Bharat” [undivided India] that showed present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh with a message “Maha-Bharat A Step Forward” on it, according to Dawn. Over a dozen of these banners were seen along roads in Islamabad’s F-6 sector, Press Club and Abpara Chowk. The district magistrate ordered an investigation into why it took “almost five hours” to take them down.
Preliminary inquiries showed that two people riding a motorcycle put up the banners in F-6 sector in the early hours of Tuesday with the act being caught on camera.
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