‘Such Hollow Exercises Cannot Hide Reality’: India Rejects PoK Local Polls As ‘Complete Farce’ Amid Crackdown

New Delhi: India on Tuesday dismissed the ongoing local elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as a “complete farce,” asserting that they cannot mask the reality of public protests and the killing of civilians by Pakistani forces.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Pakistani establishment has responded to widespread public discontent with “bullets, blackouts, intimidation, and repression” and is now attempting to manufacture legitimacy through a hollow electoral exercise.

“The so-called local elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are a complete farce. The real story is one of public protests and the indiscriminate killing of civilians by Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide the reality,” Jaiswal stated.

He noted that at least 90 civilians have lost their lives in the crackdown since June this year, with many more injured. Jaiswal called for accountability and urged the international community to see through what he described as Pakistan’s hypocritical lecturing on human rights.

His remarks come amid a brutal crackdown on the civilian population in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) during local elections in the region. The polls were marked by widespread disruptions, logistical failures and ongoing protests on Sunday, casting doubt on the process and raising fresh questions about its credibility.

Demonstrations took place across PoJK and among Kashmiri communities in several Pakistani cities, including large gatherings in Karachi where protesters criticised the electoral process and called for political reforms. Sources reported that police detained several protesters and student leaders during the demonstrations.

Global human rights and press freedom organisations, including Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ Asia), have issued urgent statements condemning the escalating state violence, press restrictions and media suppression linked to the protests in Rawalakot and across PoJK.

These groups have raised alarms over reports of enforced disappearances of journalists, restrictions on foreign media outlets and widespread internet shutdowns. They have demanded an immediate end to the crackdown and transparent investigations into the alleged human rights violations.

Amnesty International highlighted disturbing accounts of force used against demonstrators in Rawalakot, pointing to a pattern of state-led violence and calling for an independent external inquiry.

(With inputs from ANI)