India on Friday said the protests witnessed in several parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are a “natural consequence” of Islamabad’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from the region that remains under its “forcible and illegal” occupation.
India also said that the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India”.
Violent protests erupted in PoK over rising costs of food, fuel and essential utilities amid severe economic crisis in Pakistan.
“We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while responding to a question on the protests.
“We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from these territories, which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation,” Jaiswal said.
“Such exploitative policies deny the local people rights over their own resources and the benefits thereof,” he said.
“We reiterate that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India,” he said.
