India terms PoK assembly elections a 'cosmetic electoral exercise'

The MEA said the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir elections are an attempt to camouflage Islamabad's illegal occupation and conceal alleged human rights violations

India on Tuesday termed the “so-called” legislative assembly elections being held in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) a “cosmetic electoral exercise”, saying it is “an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its grave human rights violations in the region”.

 

The elections for 45 contesting seats in the so-called legislative assembly in PoK are being held in three phases between July 27 and August 10. There have been allegations of massive rigging in the first phase of the polls held on Monday. The elections are taking place after nearly two months of violence in the region, in which several people were killed.

 

 

India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of the country. New Delhi also asserts that Pakistan has been in "illegal and forcible occupation" of parts of these Union Territories.

 

Addressing a media briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), its spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said, “The ongoing mass protests in PoJK are the direct consequence of Islamabad's decades-long systemic economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights, and administrative oppression.”

 

Jaiswal also responded to a question on many Pakistani experts talking about a shared Indus Valley civilisation between India and Pakistan in the context of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), and whether it was an attempt at cultural appropriation. "A country which has been promoting cross-border terrorism, which has been promoting religious fundamentalism and violence for decades, cannot have any claim to any pluralistic cultural legacy," he said. "Their abysmal track record on the protection of minorities and their cultural rights makes such desperate attempts look even more phony," he added. India decided to put the IWT in abeyance as part of a series of punitive diplomatic and economic measures unveiled soon after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, which killed 26 civilians.

 

Asked about videos originating from Pakistan extending support to students' protests at Jantar Mantar, Jaiswal said Indian youth know the reality of that country. "Let me say that, as we all are aware, Pakistan has been sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India for several decades now," he said. "The people of India, including Gen Z, have been demanding that Pakistani state-sponsored cross-border terrorism must come to an end. We hope their counterparts are taking note," he said.