India's foreign ministry denounces Pakistan's PoK elections as a sham

India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned the so-called local polls held in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, labeling them a total farce. The ministry alleged that Pakistani security forces employed bullets, intimidation, blackouts and other repressive measures against residents. It called on Pakistan to take decisive steps against cross-border terrorism and to dismantle terrorist infrastructure operating from its soil.

Parallel concerns were raised by human-rights and press-freedom groups about alleged state violence, media curbs and internet outages during the protests. The criticism underscores heightened tensions between the two neighbours over the contested territory. No response from Pakistani officials was included in the report.