New Delhi: India firmly rejected Pakistan’s observance of “Youm-e-Istehsal” on Wednesday, dismissing the annual exercise as malicious propaganda designed to mislead the international community. Responding to statements issued by Pakistan’s political leadership on the seventh anniversary of the constitutional changes made on August 5, 2019, New Delhi reiterated that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh remain an integral and inalienable part of India, over which Islamabad possesses no legal or diplomatic locus standi.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent reorganization of the erstwhile state are strictly internal matters of India. Jaiswal stated that the legislative reforms executed by Parliament have ushered in unprecedented socio-economic development, administrative transparency, and grassroots democratic empowerment across the region, effectively dismantling long-standing governance barriers.
Escalating its critique, the External Affairs Ministry accused Pakistan of using the annual observance to divert global attention from its own deteriorating human rights record and ongoing state patronage of cross-border terrorism. The official response highlighted severe civil rights crackdowns in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), pointing to recent reports of lethal force, targeted detentions, and communication curbs deployed against peaceful civilian demonstrators. New Delhi characterized Islamabad’s rhetoric as profound political hypocrisy, calling upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all illegally occupied Indian territories and dismantle terror infrastructure operating from its soil.
