New Delhi, January 11
Expressing concern over reports of China taking substantial portion of land in Ladakh, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah today said the Centre should take up the matter with Beijing at the earliest and sort out the boundary dispute.

“This seems to be happening for the last 25 years. One cannot be absolved of the responsibility by just merely saying the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has not been demarcated,” he said.

The former Chief Minister said the Government of India should hold talks with China at the earliest and solve the boundary dispute.

“Now this boundary dispute cannot hang in balance for eternity. Earliest, the best,” Abdullah said.

Asked whether he had come to know about the Chinese incursions during his tenure as Chief Minister, he said, “This has started coming out in the public domain only in the later part of 2009”.

The remarks of the Union Minister came in the wake of a news report that area along Line of Actual Control with China has “shrunk” over a period of time and India has lost a “substantial” amount of land in the last two decades. — PTI