As I go through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) latest statement, I am struck not by its strength, but by its hollowness. India speaks of “atrocities” in what it arrogantly calls “Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.” Let us begin with facts: there is no such entity. The region is known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) — and it is free, governed by its own institutions and people. The only Kashmir under foreign occupation today is Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
India’s carefully crafted propaganda attempts to invert reality. When Kashmiri voices in IIOJK cry out against seven decades of military oppression, New Delhi points its finger at AJK to deflect attention. But the world is not blind. The cries of widows in Srinagar, the silence of disappeared sons, the mothers lining up outside prisons — these are not fictions. These are lived truths under India’s jackboot.
The MEA’s attempt to portray AJK as a region rising against Pakistan is both laughable and dangerous. Yes, AJK has its share of local grievances, as any society does. But there is a difference between genuine civic protests and the kind of unrest India is actively attempting to manufacture. Evidence has repeatedly surfaced of Indian intelligence operatives establishing covert contact with certain misled individuals in AJK, using social media and mobile networks. Handlers sitting across the border have sought to plant seeds of chaos, hoping to fabricate the illusion of instability.
Why would India need to do this, if AJK were truly suffocating under “Pakistani repression”? The answer is simple: because the reality on the ground does not match India’s narrative.
Despite economic challenges, AJK governs itself, its press and political parties operate freely, and its people live without the shadow of occupation forces patrolling every street corner. In contrast, IIOJK remains the most militarized zone in the world — a land where every Kashmiri child grows up knowing the sound of boots, raids, and gun barrels.
I have met Kashmiris who have lost brothers to enforced disappearances. I have spoken with women who carry the grief of husbands languishing in Indian prisons for years without trial. Their testimonies are heartbreaking, but they all carry one unifying message: they do not want to be part of India’s occupation. They want the dignity of self-determination.
Let me ask the Indian MEA some simple questions:
If IIOJK is “peaceful” as you claim, why are foreign observers and journalists still barred from visiting freely?
If your democracy is so proud, why do you fear the ballot box in Kashmir?
If you believe Kashmiris stand with you, why do you need 900,000 soldiers to guard them?
These are not rhetorical flourishes. These are the questions that haunt India’s narrative. Instead of answering them, New Delhi tries to distract with lies about AJK.
Make no mistake — this is not about Pakistan versus India. This is about people. About children in Sopore who sketch barbed wire instead of flowers. About journalists in Srinagar who write truth knowing a midnight knock could come. About graveyards that grow longer rows while the world debates geopolitics.
And yet, despite all this, Kashmiri resilience endures. When they march on the streets of Srinagar, chanting “Azadi,” they are not speaking the language of rebellion, but of humanity. They are asking for the same freedom that India itself once fought for.
India can plant agents in AJK. It can flood social media with disinformation. It can even issue sanctimonious press statements through the MEA. But none of this changes the truth: Azad Jammu and Kashmir is not occupied. Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is.
India exports propaganda because it cannot export peace. It hides behind words because it cannot face the mirror of justice. And until it ends its brutal occupation, no amount of spin will silence the simple, undeniable demand of the Kashmiri people: the right to live free.