India, June 6 -- India on Friday lodged a strong diplomatic protest against Pakistan's decision to conduct so-called "General Elections" for the "Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly" on June 7, asserting that the region is an integral part of India and remains under Pakistan's illegal occupation.

In an official statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated India's longstanding position that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit-Baltistan, are an inalienable part of India by virtue of the complete, legal, and irrevocable accession of the erstwhile princely State of Jammu & Kashmir to India in 1947.

The Government strongly objected to Pakistan's move to hold elections in the region, describing i...