India has strongly objected to a news report published by the prominent American daily The New York Times. The report, which covered the ongoing unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), referred to the region as “Pakistani Kashmir” — a characterization India sharply criticized as misleading.
Responding to this, the Indian Embassy in the United States issued a strong rebuttal on the social media platform ‘X’. It clarified that there is no such thing as “Pakistani Kashmir” — only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) exists — and completely rejected the false framing used in the New York Times headline.
In its statement, the Indian Embassy reaffirmed India’s sovereignty, stating unequivocally that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are, and will forever remain, an integral and inseparable part of India. It condemned Pakistan for illegally occupying parts of that territory and for continuously perpetrating violence against the people living there.
Meanwhile, the situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has become extremely tense. Fierce clashes have broken out between protesters and security forces during local elections. More than 40 people have reportedly lost their lives so far in heavy firing by Pakistani security forces on opposition members and civilians, causing widespread shock.
The local administration has now imposed severe restrictions. Funeral processions for protesters killed in the violence have been banned, and victims’ families allege that security forces are not even releasing the bodies of those killed in the firing to their relatives.
These large-scale protests are being led by the ‘Joint Awami Action Committee’. Local residents have taken to the streets against unexpectedly rising costs of essential goods, severe administrative failures, and political discrimination by the Pakistani government.
India has already responded to these developments in PoK, including the elections being held there. India has criticized the elections as nominal exercises that are merely part of Pakistan’s deceptive attempts to cover up human rights violations and its illegal occupation of the region.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has also reacted to the New York Times report, demanding an impartial inquiry into the deaths of the victims. However, India has issued a strong diplomatic warning against the use of headlines that distort regional realities, once again making clear to the world its sovereignty over the territory.