India has termed the elections being held in PoJK as a pretense to hide Pakistan’s illegal occupation. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and the protests taking place in PoJK reflect the plight there.
New Delhi [भारत]July 28 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said the ongoing “sham election exercise” in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) is nothing more than an attempt by Islamabad to “hide its illegal occupation and cover up its grave human rights violations in the region”. The ministry stressed that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas currently under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are integral parts of India.
Addressing a regular media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to the ongoing protests in PoJK and said they reflect widespread public discontent over governance and economic conditions. Jaiswal said, “We have seen reports of so-called assembly elections being held in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India’s stand on this particular matter has been clear, consistent and well-known. The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas currently under illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan, are integral and inalienable parts of India.”
He further said, “The current sham electoral exercise is nothing more than an attempt by Pakistan to hide its illegal occupation and cover up its grave human rights violations in the region. As we have said earlier, the ongoing massive protests in PoJK, which, as you are aware, are a direct result of economic exploitation, deprivation of people of their fundamental rights and its administrative handling.”
Election rigging and protests
Protesters in PoJK have complained of widespread election fraud, political interference and systematic repression of democratic rights. The complaints came as tensions rose during the 52-day long protest movement in the area, with protesters demanding the release of detainees, withdrawal of cases against protesters and acceptance of their broader demands.
The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) accused authorities of suppressing peaceful protests and undermining the democratic process through alleged electoral irregularities. Leaders of the protests alleged that the electoral process had been manipulated to influence the results and that it was subverting the will of the people and undermining democratic institutions. They have also accused authorities of restricting political dissent through arrests, intimidation and heavy security deployment.
Firing on protesters, claim of 14 deaths
The protesters also unequivocally condemned the indiscriminate firing by Pakistani forces on protesters in Rawalakot as thousands of people prepared to march towards Muzaffarabad following the failure of talks between JAAC and authorities on Monday.
Earlier, the JAAC had given a deadline of 1 pm on July 27 to the authorities to issue an official notification accepting their demands, and warned that failing to do so, thousands of protesters would march from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad.
After this, as no agreement was reached, thousands of people gathered in Rawalakot and started marching. Following this, Pakistani security forces opened fire on protesters in the area. Eyewitnesses associated with the movement claimed that at least 14 people were killed and about two dozen were injured during the brutality that took place on Monday evening. (ANI)
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