‘Illegally occupied’: Indian Embassy in US slams foreign media for calling PoK ‘Pakistani Kashmir’

NEW DELHI: The Indian Embassy on Wednesday criticised The New York Times for referring to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as “Pakistani Kashmir”, asserting that Pakistan has illegally occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir.In a post on X, the embassy said: “Misleading and incorrect headline by The New York Times. There is no Pakistani Kashmir, only Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.”“The Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Pakistan has illegally occupied parts of these territories and is now using violence against the occupied people,” it added.The criticism came after a New York Times report on violent clashes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.According to the report, citing local officials and independent estimates, at least 30 people, including protesters, law enforcement personnel and bystanders, have been killed in clashes since early June, including in the latest round of violence on Monday.The Joint Awami Action Committee, a coalition of activist groups, has been leading protests in PoK since last month over 12 contentious seats in the so-called regional legislative assembly. The group alleges that the Pakistani establishment manipulates these seats to install a prime minister of its choice.India has maintained that the ongoing protests in PoK are “the direct consequences of Pakistan’s economic exploitation, its denial of the people’s fundamental rights, and its administrative oppression.”