New Delhi, March 8 (AHN) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would themselves demand assimilation into India as there were little chances of Islamabad willing to return the stolen part of the Valley.

“The rate at which economic development has taken place and the way India’s stature has grown on the world stage, people of PoK have started feeling that their development lies joining a country like India,” Rajnath Singh told AHN in an exclusive interaction.

The people of the region will force Pakistan for its assimilation into India, said the Defence Minister, adding, “I believe the people of that region may not even need Pakistan’s consent for it.”

Rajnath Singh’s remarks come close to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar's statement that the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under the illegal Pakistani occupation, was the final measure to resolve the Kashmir issue

On an earlier occasion, Rajnath Singh said that the Pakistan government calls the people of PoK ‘foreigners’ while India considers them as its own citizens.

He said in a recent affidavit, the solicitor general of Pakistan called the people of PoK as ‘foreigners’.

“We don’t call them foreigners. They are our people. Let them come and join us,” he said.

He said that "the PoK was part of India, is part of India and will remain its part forever".

He said that Jammu and Kashmir was witnessing a new paradigm of growth under the NDA government and with businesses and growth projects flourishing in the region, it is attracting the attention of not just Pakistan but the whole world.

"Recently, Pakistan flags were taken down in some areas of PoK, this shows the simmering anger in the region," he said.