LAHORE: Pakistan’s Foreign Office has strongly rejected India’s characterisation of the ongoing elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as a “farce,” insisting that New Delhi has “neither the standing nor the moral authority” to comment on the democratic process in the region.

Addressing a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ remarks were “baseless and politically motivated,” pointing out that they came just a day ahead of the seventh anniversary of India’s August 5, 2019 revocation of held Kashmir’s special status — a move Islamabad maintains violates international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

Andrabi said elections in AJK were being conducted in a “peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” reflecting the democratic will of the region’s people, and accused India of trying to deflect global attention from its own actions in occupied Kashmir, including what he described as a heavy military presence and demographic changes aimed at altering the region’s Muslim-majority character.

He reiterated Pakistan’s position that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir must be determined through relevant UN resolutions and a UN-supervised plebiscite reflecting the freely expressed will of the Kashmiri people.

Separately, Andrabi also addressed Pakistan’s continued diplomatic engagement over the Iran-US crisis, expressing hope that a breakthrough on the Strait of Hormuz would pave the way for renewed technical-level talks between Washington and Tehran.