Pakistan firmly dismissed India’s unfounded assertions concerning the forthcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, accusing New Delhi of being a “global leader in spreading fabricated narratives and biased propaganda.” The Foreign Office condemned India’s “outlandish claims” as a predictable and orchestrated effort to blur the line between reality and fiction.
Gilgit-Baltistan is scheduled to hold elections on June 7 to elect its fourth Legislative Assembly. The 2009 Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, promulgated by then-President Asif Ali Zardari, was designed to grant the region autonomy in self-governance.
In a strongly worded response, Pakistan’s Foreign Office reiterated that India continues to illegally occupy the internationally recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It emphasized that the Kashmir issue remains the longest unresolved matter on the United Nations Security Council agenda, originating from India’s forcible and unlawful occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.
The Foreign Office stressed that a just and lasting resolution to the Kashmir conflict depends on the faithful implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, which guarantee the Kashmiri people’s inalienable right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under UN supervision.
Meanwhile, Pakistan highlighted that India’s baseless claims about Gilgit-Baltistan serve as a distraction from the serious and systematic human rights abuses committed by Indian forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The FO described the impunity enjoyed by Indian forces under harsh laws imposed in IIOJK as an additional aspect of the state terrorism inflicted by New Delhi on Kashmiris.
In a significant development, Pakistan urged India to withdraw from all occupied territories and reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken in IIOJK, especially since August 5, 2019. It called on India to repeal all repressive laws and permit access to neutral observers, international human rights and humanitarian organizations, and global media to assess the situation on the ground.
Finally, the Foreign Office insisted that India must allow the Kashmiri people to exercise their right to self-determination in line with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, underscoring the necessity of a peaceful and lawful resolution to the longstanding dispute.
