India Accuses Pakistan of Killing 90 Civilians in Pok Crackdown

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, at a regular media briefing, described the ongoing local assembly elections in PoK as a "complete farce" and called on the international community to focus on "wanton killings" in the region. "The real happening is that of public protests and wanton killings by the Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide reality, he said.

Jaiswal noted that at least 90 civilians have died in a crackdown since June, with many more injured. "The Pakistani establishment has answered public discontent with bullets, blackouts, intimidation and repression, and now seeks to manufacture legitimacy through a hollow electoral exercise, he added. He stressed that Pakistan "must be held accountable" and the world should see through the veneer of Pakistan's hypocritical lecturing on human rights.