India filed a strong protest on Friday against Pakistan's plans to hold general elections in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, a region that India claims is part of its sovereign territory but is now under what it refers to as Pakistan's "illegal and forcible occupation." These elections are scheduled for June 7, 2026, according to a declaration from India's Ministry of External Affairs.
Following Jammu & Kashmir's legal accession to India in 1947, the Indian government reaffirmed its long-standing stance that the regions of Ladakh, which encompasses Gilgit-Baltistan, and Jammu & Kashmir are essential and unalienable portions of the Indian Union. India denounced persistent human rights abuses and political persecution in these areas, as well as Pakistan's attempts to change the status quo.

Amjad Ayub Mirza, a well-known human rights campaigner, has urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action on behalf of those residing in Jammu and Kashmir, which is under Pakistani occupation. Mirza has highlighted severe violations of human rights and heightened repression of activists, citing reports of arrests and detentions of Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee members because of their demands for political and economic rights.