Washington, DC: India has objected to a headline used by The New York Times for a report on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), calling the description misleading and incorrect and reiterating that the region is legally part of India.
The Indian Embassy in the United States responded to the newspapers wording, saying that there is no separate entity called Pakistani Kashmir and that the correct term is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
There is no Pakistani Kashmir, only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the embassy said in a post on X.
The diplomatic mission also repeated New Delhis position that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are union territories of India and always remain an integral and inalienable part of the country.
The response came after the NYT published a report on recent unrest and local elections in PoK. The report used the term Pakistani Kashmir in its headline while covering protests, clashes and political developments in the region.
India objects to terminology
India has consistently rejected Pakistans control over parts of Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that the area under Islamabads administration is under illegal occupation. The Indian government has used the term Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in official statements for decades.
In its response, the embassy accused Pakistan of holding parts of Indian territory and alleged that Islamabad has used force against people living in the region.
The embassys statement came amid reports of clashes in areas including Mirpur, where security forces confronted members of the Joint Awami Action Committee, a civil rights group involved in protests over local demands and allegations of police excesses.
According to the NYT report, at least two people were killed during the latest clashes after suffering gunshot injuries. The newspaper also referred to demands by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan for an independent inquiry into the deaths.
The report said the Joint Awami Action Committee had claimed that several of its members were killed during confrontations with the police, while also saying that these claims could not be independently verified.
Unrest during elections
The recent tensions in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir took place during a period of political unrest and local elections. Protests by the Joint Awami Action Committee focused on issues including political rights, economic concerns and complaints against government policies.
The clashes affected the election process in some areas, with reports of violence and disruption during the voting period.
The New York Times report covered the unrest and the response of authorities, while India objected to the terminology used to describe the region.
New Delhi has repeatedly stated that the entire Jammu and Kashmir region, including areas controlled by Pakistan, belongs to India. The Indian position is that Pakistan must vacate the areas under its control.
The latest exchange with The New York Times comes amid continued disagreements between India and Pakistan over the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a region that has been at the centre of disputes between the two countries since independence in 1947.