ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has strongly rejected the findings of the so-called ‘delimitation panel’ for Indian-occupied Kashmir, which was presented to the country on Tuesday (IoK).
A press statement from the Foreign Office stated that the Indian Charge d’Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday and handed over a demarche conveying the Government of Pakistan’s categorical rejection of the report of the so-called ‘Delimitation Commission,’ which was aimed at disenfranchising and disempowering the Muslim majority population of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK).
On the Indian side, it was communicated that the entire exercise was “farcical” and had previously been rejected by a cross-section of political groups in the Islamic Republic of Korea. According to the FO statement, India’s sole goal in undertaking this effort was to give “legitimacy” to its illegal activities on August 5, 2019.
Specifically, it was stated that the ulterior aim of the Indian government was clear from the fact that, under the guise of so-called delimitation, the representation of Muslims in the re-designated seats had been lowered to the detriment of Muslims.
“The Indian government’s argument that the ‘delimitation endeavour’ was intended to ’empower’ the local population was shattered as a result of this development. In practise, however, the new election borders will further weaken, marginalise, and divide the inhabitants of the occupied territories. Only the establishment of yet another puppet administration sponsored by the BJP-RSS combination will be made possible as a result of this decision “The statement went on to say.
It was stressed to the Indian Chief of the Air Staff that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was an internationally recognised conflict that had been on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for a long time.
An emphasis was placed in the FO statement on the fact that any illegal, unilateral, and devious attempt by India to grant disproportionately higher electoral representation to Hindus at the expense of Muslim voters is a mockery of all democratic and moral norms, and of India’s obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international law.
As previously stated, India must refrain from imposing any illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory, cease immediately its oppression of the people of Kashmir, and allow them to determine their own future through a free and fair plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations, as stipulated in relevant UN Security Council resolutions, before any further action can be taken.
Earlier in the day, India announced a new list of reconfigured electoral seats for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, giving greater representation to the Hindu sections of the Muslim-majority territory and clearing the way for new elections.
An assembly delimitation commission had finalised 90 assembly constituencies for IoK, excluding Ladakh, including 43 seats for Jammu and 47 seats for Kashmir, according to the government statement. Prior to this, Jammu had 37 seats while the Kashmir valley had 46 seats.
The commission, whose report was rejected by the Peoples Democratic Party of the Islamic Republic of Kiribati, stated that it had been difficult to integrate opposing claims from multiple sides, citing the region’s “unique geo-cultural context.”
In January, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah stated that elections in the Indian Ocean Territory (IoK) will be held as soon as the delimitation process was completed. He also promised to restore its independence once the country’s “situation returned to normal.”
In a statement, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, which has ruled the region since independence, said it was studying the implications of the move championed by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the National Conference, “no amount of gerrymandering will change the ground reality, which is that whenever elections are held, the voter will punish the BJP and its proxies for what they have done to IoK over the last four years.”
If elected, the BJP promised on Twitter that it would improve the image and future of the Islamic Republic of Kashmir.
