New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Tuesday reiterated its position on the territorial elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), claiming ‘such hollow exercises cannot hide reality’.
“This so-called local election in PoK is a complete farce. The real happening is that of public protests and wanton killings by Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide reality,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a regular press briefing.
The voting, which began on 27 July and will continue until 10 August, unfolds against internet shutdowns and a spate of arrests, besides deadly clashes between protesters and security forces which have claimed at least 90 lives. By some estimates, 14,000 personnel from Pakistan’s Punjab have been deployed in PoK to oversee the polling process.
Instead of a single-day poll, voting for PoK’s 53 seats is being held in three phases for the first time due to the security situation.
Polling was held in 13 constituencies in Mirpur division on 27 July, and will be held in nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees across PoK on 1 August. The remaining 11 constituencies in Sudhanoti division, hit hardest by the unrest, will go to the polls on 10 August. Direct contests are held for 45 of PoK’s 53 seats. In the first phase of voting, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured nine of the 13 contested seats, while its coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party, won the remaining four.
Despite governing together at the federal level, the two parties have since traded accusations over the conduct of the election, with the PPP alleging widespread rigging, violence and electoral irregularities.
“Since June this year, at least 90 civilians have lost their lives in the continuing crackdown. The Pakistani Establishment has answered public discontent with bullets, black outs, 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 flimsy veneer of Pakistan’s hypocritical lecturing on human rights,” the MEA said Tuesday on the situation in PoK.
The ongoing protests across PoK first broke out in June when JAAC—an umbrella outfit of trade groups, civil-society organisations and religious bodies—called for the abolition of the 12 seats reserved across Pakistan for refugees. It called for a march on the regional capital, Muzaffarabad, on 9 June to emphasise its demand. But the JAAC was banned four days prior, on 5 June, by the territorial administration which accused it of sedition, violence and activities prejudicial to State security.
Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the grassroots coalition leading months of anti-government protests in PoK, Sunday called on residents to boycott the ongoing legislative elections, calling the vote a “fraud” being conducted “at gunpoint” as Pakistani Rangers continued a sweeping crackdown across the region.
In a video statement posted on the Facebook page of JAAC leader Sardar Umar Nazir, the coalition reiterated longstanding demands for electoral reforms while insisting it was not opposed to democratic elections themselves.
“This election that’s ongoing right now is being carried out at gunpoint,” Nazir said. “We will not create obstacles for this election, but we, as JAAC, declare these fraudulent and farcical.” Calling on residents to stay away from polling stations, he argued that the electoral process lacked credibility because, in his view, much of the population had been excluded from meaningful participation.
“We are not against democracy or elections. However, we demand that the elections be impartial, but that is not the case for these elections,” he added. “JAAC has announced that the elections that are taking place are a fraud election being held at gunpoint.”
He then asked supporters to join demonstrations in Muzaffarabad instead of voting, saying any government formed through the elections would lack public legitimacy.
(Edited by Prakhar Agrawal)
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