India Protests Calling PoK ‘Azaad Kashmir’ in US Terror Report

The govt said they’ve seen the term ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir’ and registered their protest with the authorities.

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India has strongly protested against the US over the state department’s, “Country Report on Terrorism 2016” referring to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” Times of India reported.

The report that released on Wednesday also states that the area is being used by terrorists groups to target India.

The government has seen the mention of the term ‘Azad Jammu & Kashmir’ in the US state department’s country report on terrorism for 2016. We have raised the matter with the US authorities and lodged our protest.

Spokesperson, External Affairs Ministry

This is the first time that the US has referred to the region as ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir.’ Till recently, US referred to the region as ‘Pakistan-administered Kashmir.’

The report also praised India’s efforts in combating terrorism. It also referred to the Indian state as “Jammu and Kashmir”, instead of previous references like “India-administered Kashmir”.

In the section on US government-designated foreign terrorist organisations, the report talks of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and says "the outfit conducts its operations primarily in the state of Jammu & Kashmir and Afghanistan".

It adds, "HUM operates from Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, as well as several cities in Pakistan".