MEA Debunks False Claims, Calls PoJK Elections 'Cosmetic' to Camouflage Pakistan's 'Illegal & Forcible' Occupation

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Fact Check unit has strongly rebutted attempts on social media to distort official statements regarding the ongoing legislative assembly elections in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

In a post on X, the MEA Fact Check handle clarified India's consistent position on the region.

"The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas currently under Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation, are integral and inalienable parts of India," it stated.

The unit described the current electoral process as a "cosmetic electoral exercise" aimed at masking Pakistan's illegal occupation and diverting attention from serious human rights violations in the region.

The MEA further linked the recent wave of mass protests in PoJK to long-standing grievances against Islamabad.

"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," the statement added.

India has consistently maintained that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of parts of its sovereign territory in Jammu and Kashmir. The Fact Check unit's intervention comes amid efforts by certain social media accounts to misrepresent remarks made by MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on the issue.

The clarification underscores New Delhi's firm rejection of any legitimacy to the polls being conducted under Pakistani occupation.

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