Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has refuted former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah's assertion that a third party can be approached for the settlement of the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan.


"I have been asserting for long that it's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies at the Centre that have destroyed Jammu and Kashmir. And the point that is being mentioned that a third party's intervention should be invited for the settlement of the issue, it's wrong. India is Kashmir and Kashmir is India," Rahul said on Friday.


"It's our internal matter and no other country should have any say in it," he added.


Earlier in the day, Abdullah said that India should approach third parties, such as the United States and China, to mediate in the Kashmir issue.


Adbullah said India has so many allies across the globe, which can be approached for settling the Kashmir issue to act as a mediator between India and Pakistan.


"For how long are you going to wait? Sometimes, you have to pull the bull by its horns. The way is to have a dialogue. India has so many friends all across the world. They can ask them to act as a mediator. U.S. President Trump himself said that he wants to settle Kashmir problem. China also said that it wants to mediate in Kashmir. Somebody has to be approached," Abdullah said.