India on Tuesday strongly rejected the so-called legislative assembly elections being conducted in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), describing them as a “cosmetic exercise” aimed at legitimising Pakistan’s illegal occupation of the region.
Responding to questions on the polls, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation, are integral parts of India.
“We have seen reports regarding the so-called legislative assembly elections being conducted in the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” Jaiswal said.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the elections in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “We have seen reports regarding the so-called legislative assembly elections being conducted in the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir… The entire union… pic.twitter.com/hxHm0fckz3
— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2026
He asserted that the electoral exercise was an attempt by Pakistan to “camouflage its illegal occupation” and divert attention from what India described as grave human rights violations in the region.
“The entire Union Territories of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas currently under illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan, are integral parts of India. The current cosmetic electoral exercise is nothing but an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its grave human rights violations in the region,” he said.
The MEA spokesperson also linked the ongoing unrest in PoJK to Pakistan’s governance of the region.
“The ongoing mass protest in the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is the direct consequence of its economic exploitation, its denial of fundamental rights to the people and its administrative oppression,” Jaiswal said.
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