Pakistan dismisses Indian claims of democracy in IIOJK as ‘false propaganda’

Islamabad has termed New Delhi’s statement on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as “false propaganda of so-called democracy and good governance”.

“In a tweet, Indian EAM [external affairs minister] made unsubstantiated & self-serving remarks about #IIOJK. We wish to remind India that Jammu & Kashmir remains an internationally recognised dispute & one of the longest outstanding items on UNSC agenda. It never was & never will be part of India,” the Foreign Office said in a tweet on Thursday.

Indian Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar had said that IIOJK has seen real democracy, development, good governance and empowerment in the last two years since it abrogated the semi-autonomous status of the Muslim-majority region.

“As a result, India's unity and integrity has [have] been immeasurably strengthened,” he added in a tweet.

Reacting to the statement, the Foreign Office said that the international community has in the past two years seen the most unprecedented military siege, gross and systematic human rights violations and curbs on fundamental rights and freedoms of Kashmiris in IIOJK amid New Delhi “false propaganda of so-called democracy, development, good governance and empowerment”.

“Voices from inside India, too, are questioning the current regime, and a ‘Minister’ claiming enhanced unity is divorced from reality and nothing more than an amusing display of out-of-place hubris,” said the FO.

The statement reiterated that Kashmir never was and never will be a part of India.

Indian statement comes as Pakistan was observing Youm-e-Istehsal on Thursday to express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiri people – marking two years of the military siege in IIOJK.

Today also marks two years since the Indian government scrapped the special constitutional status of the besieged valley on August 5, 2019, in a unilateral and illegal move.

Various events took place, including solidarity walks, in all the major cities of the country, in order to denounce the illegal Indian actions against the people of the occupied territory.