New Delhi, August 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India has strongly objected to the use of the term “Pakistani Kashmir” in international reporting, asserting that the territory is Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and warning that inaccurate terminology should not be allowed to legitimise what it describes as Pakistan’s illegal occupation of the region.
The issue gained attention after the Indian Embassy in Washington objected to a headline in The New York Times that referred to unrest in the region as taking place in “Pakistani Kashmir.” The embassy stated that “there is no Pakistani Kashmir, only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.”
The objection comes amid reports of widespread unrest in PoK, where protests against Pakistan’s administration have reportedly resulted in more than 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries following action by Pakistani security forces.
Writing in India Narrative, former Punjab Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu argued that India’s diplomatic objection was closely linked to developments on the ground in PoK.
According to Sidhu, while India was correcting international terminology, Pakistani security forces were simultaneously using force against protesters in Mirpur, Kotli, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad, where demonstrations were being held against what Pakistan described as a democratic electoral exercise.
He contended that the protests reflected growing public resistance to Pakistan’s control over the region and alleged that Assembly elections in PoK have historically been overseen by Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment, with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) exercising significant influence over the electoral process.
Sidhu further wrote that the July 2026 developments were marked by an unprecedented boycott of the electoral process by sections of the local population, claiming that the response from Pakistani authorities was a violent crackdown.
The report also highlighted protests by members of the Kashmiri diaspora in London, where demonstrators marched from Hyde Park to the Pakistan High Commission to protest alleged human rights violations in PoK. According to the report, the protesters comprised British Kashmiris and members of the PoK diaspora.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has described Pakistan’s recent electoral exercise in PoK as a “complete farce” and a “cosmetic exercise” intended to legitimise what India considers Pakistan’s illegal occupation of the territory.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the elections could not conceal the ongoing public protests and violence in the region.
“This so-called local elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a complete farce. The real happening is that of public protests and wanton killings by the Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide reality,” Jaiswal said during a recent media briefing.
He further alleged that since June this year, at least 90 civilians had lost their lives in the continuing crackdown and many others had been injured.
“The Pakistani establishment has answered public discontent with bullets, blackouts, intimidation and repression and now seeks to manufacture legitimacy through a hollow electoral exercise. It must be held accountable, and the world should see through the veneer of Pakistan’s hypocritical lecturing on human rights,” the MEA spokesperson added.
FOLLOW NOW
