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(With agency inputs)

NEW DELHI: Reiterating his earlier stand on the Kashmir issue, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that India should give up on the pursuit of acquiring Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and merging it in its territory."For how long will we keep shedding the blood of the innocent people and keep saying that it (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) is our part? It is not owned by them (India). Seventy years have passed. That is Pakistan, this is India. They (India) haven't been able to acquire it in 70 years. Today, they say that it is part of their territory," he said while addressing a gathering in Uri.Abdullah has been advocating changing the Line of Control into an international border and granting more autonomy to both— Kashmir and the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) as part of the solution to the seven-decade old conflict.On November 11, Abdullah courted controversy when he shunned the idea of Azadi (Freedom) for Kashmir."Ours is a landlocked state between three nuclear countries including India, Pakistan and China. I, therefore, believe Azadi is not possible nor workable. The part of the state under Pakistan belongs to them as our part belongs to India," Abdullah told media here.He also urged the governments of India and Pakistan to work on a model to grant greater internal autonomy for respective parts of Kashmir.The leader's comment evoked criticism from various factions, especially from the members of the ruling party in Delhi.Dismissing Abdullah's suggestion, the state unit of BJP on Sunday said that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir is part of Indian territory and Pakistan should vacate the illegally occupied territories."Indian Parliament has made it clear that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India and Pakistan has to vacate illegally occupied areas," state BJP president Sat Sharma said here.VHP leader Pravin Togadia too echoed the BJP's sentiment and said that people who harbour such ideas should leave the country and go to Pakistan."Kashmir is an integral part of India. People talking about independent Kashmir should go to Pakistan or else our security forces are ready with AK 47s at the border to deal with them," Togadia said.Abdullah's remarks came under criticism from the separatist groups as well.Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Sunday slammed Abdullah for dismissing talk of an independent Kashmir, saying "power-hungry" politicians have always "played deceit" with people."These power-hungry politicians always played deceit. These irresponsible and short-sighted people have always served the interests of their masters. They are barefaced, follow their treacherous politics and are never ashamed of their absurd statements," Geelani said in a statement.Abdullah's suggestions have, in the past, been echoed by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi ."The demand in the Kashmir Valley is to respect the letter and spirit of Article 370 that means they want greater autonomy. My interactions in J&K led me to the conclusion that when they ask for azadi, mostly, I am not saying all... the overwhelming majority, they want autonomy," he told reporters in Gujarat's Rajkot.Earlier this month, Pakistan Prime Minister, while responding to questions during the Future of Pakistan 2017 conference in London, said that the idea of independent Kashmir lacks support and reality."There is no support for the demand for independent Kashmir," he had claimed.