Ongoing unrest in PoK a direct consequence of Islamabad’s decades-long systemic exploitation: India

Coming down heavily on Islamabad over the ongoing unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), India on Tuesday said the protests are a direct consequence of Islamabad’s decades-long systemic exploitation.

New Delhi also called on the international community to hold Pakistan accountable for its “misdeeds and abuses.”

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Addressing his weekly media briefing here, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are a direct consequence of Pakistan’s decades-long systemic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights, and administrative oppression in areas under its illegal and forcible occupation.”

“Rather than addressing the legitimate grievances of the local population, the Pakistani state has responded with excessive police brutality, including against helpless women and children, blocking essential supplies, including food and medicines, enforcing internal blackouts, and deploying lethal force against unarmed civilians, which has led to tragic fatalities,” Jaiswal said.

“We expect and hope that the international community will hold Pakistan fully accountable for these egregious abuses and misdeeds,” he added.

Thousands of locals have been staging large-scale anti-government protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) over the past several weeks, raising slogans against the Pakistani authorities. What began as demands for basic rights has now transformed into a powerful challenge to Islamabad’s longstanding control, with local leaders making scathing allegations that strike at the heart of the Pakistani authorities’ narrative on the occupied territory.

Earlier, on June 9, while addressing his weekly media briefing here, Jaiswal, in response to a media query on the ongoing protests and the crackdown on protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), had said, “We continue to see, in this context, a pattern of fake news and videos emanating from Pakistan. It is a desperate attempt by Pakistan to cover up its own failings and deflect attention away from its human rights abuses.”

“There are reports of police brutality in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in which several people have been killed and many more have been injured. We hope the international community will hold Pakistan accountable for its misdeeds and abuses,” the MEA spokesperson had said.

New Delhi’s reaction came after as many as 12 people, including eight protesters and four security personnel, were reportedly killed in clashes between members of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot, a city in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).