Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 8 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reacted to the Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's recent remarks related to striking Kolkata and said that 'They should forget about the dream of reaching Kolkata' and advised them to try to improve relations rather than deteriorate them.

rejected Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's reported threat of striking Kolkata in the event of any escalation with India, calling it unrealistic and advising Islamabad to focus on improving relations rather than escalating tensions.

Speaking to reporters, CM Abdullah said, 'It hasn't even been a year since Operation Sindoor was completed...Forget about Kolkata, they barely reached Jammu. They should forget about the dream of reaching Kolkata. It would be better for them to somehow try to improve relations rather than further worsen them, because bad relations don't harm us as much as they do.'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hit back strongly at Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's recent remarks, stressing that he should not give 'such provocative statement' because they suffered the consequences when Pakistan was divided into two parts.

Speaking to ANI, Singh further said that only the god would know how many parts Pakistan would be divided if 'they cast an eye on Bengal.'

'Pakistan's Defence Minister should not have given such a provocative statement. 55 years ago, they suffered the consequences when Pakistan was divided into two parts. If they try to cast an eye on Bengal, only God knows how many parts Pakistan will be divided into this time,' said Rajnath Singh.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday reportedly said that Islamabad would retaliate by striking Kolkata in the event of any future misadventure by India.

The incident also drew criticism of the government from TMC as party MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of not being able to 'muster the courage' to condemn Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's reported open threat to strike Kolkata. (ANI)