Pakistan categorically rejected on Friday the deliberate Indian attempts of pre-poll rigging and overt manipulation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), saying that it will not be able to break the will of the Kashmiris.
"The latest announcement of permitting even temporary residents in the occupied territory, including outside workforce and security personnel, to register as “voters” is a clear manifestation of the treacherous Indian design to influence the outcome of ‘so-called’ elections in the IIOJK," Foreign Office (FO) said in a press release.
Earlier, a top official told Reuters that India is expected to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in IIOJK.
IIOJK Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar said that more than 2 million new voters are expected to be enrolled in the region ahead of local polls due in November.
The new registrants could increase the voter count by more than a third, adding to the existing 7.6 million voters in the region.
“We are expecting an addition of (2 to 2.5 million) new voters in the final list,” Kumar said, including non-Kashmiris living in the region.
Meanwhile, the FO reiterated its complete rejection of India’s entire litany of steps aimed at turning the Muslim majority in IIOJK into a minority "including the formulation of the so-called ‘Delimitation’ Commission and its baseless report, the issuance of fake Kashmiri domiciles to millions of outsiders, and changes in the property laws".
India to register up to 2.5m voters in IIOJ&K
The statement said that India will not be able to break the will of the Kashmiri people or to mislead the world community.
"The government of India must desist from all actions in the IIOJK that violate the international law, the UN Charter, and the 4th Geneva Convention.
"India must also release all political prisoners detained on trumped-up charges, halt human rights violations in the IIOJK, lift the brutal military siege, and let the Kashmiris exercise their legitimate right to self-determination as stipulated in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions," FO said.
FO also called upon the international community to take immediate cognizance of the blatant Indian attempts at "effecting illegal demographic changes in the IIOJK and to hold India to account".