India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing criticism for its handling of the final phase of sham elections in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, with many calling it an "engineered election fiasco". Senior APHC-AJK leader Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in a statement issued in Islamabad spoke out against the BJP's claims of conquering the people of Jammu and Kashmir, labeling it a "mirage" and "phantom" in a "deserted, slaughtered, and fragmented land". Rehmani argues that the Indian regime has murdered basic civil rights, fundamental and constitutional freedoms, and squeezed economic and agricultural opportunities, making a mockery of justice and judges.

He also criticized the granting of unprecedented powers of surveillance and arrest to agencies, framing and fabricating dossiers and criminal charges, and targeting dissent . Rehmani called upon the UN General Secretary to reiterate the UN's commitment to resolving the Kashmir dispute peacefully and in line with UN resolutions. The international community must continue to pressure India to respect the rights of the Kashmiri people and work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict, he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan