Barmer, April 22 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India missed a "golden opportunity" during 1971 war to resolve Kashmir dispute by releasing hundreds of Pakistani troops from the Indian Army's custody "under global pressure".

Modi made the observation at an election rally here and said the then Congress government signed Shimla agreement (in 1972) "under global pressure" and released over 90,000 prisoners of war (PoW) instead of resolving the Kashmir dispute "in lieu of the PoW."

"Pak troops were in our custody. A big area of Pakistan was also captured by Indian forces during the 1971 war but the Congress government lost it on the table in Shimla agreement and they were released," he said.

"The government crumbled under ...