The Ministry of External Affairs has reiterated that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including areas under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation, are integral and inalienable parts of India.

The Ministry’s Fact Check Unit said that the ongoing electoral exercise in the Pakistan-occupied region is merely a cosmetic attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and divert attention from the grave human rights violations in the region.

It added that, as stated earlier, the ongoing mass protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are a direct consequence of Islamabad’s decades-long systemic economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights and administrative oppression.