Rawalakot (POJK), July 28 (NVI) Continuing their brutalities, Pakistani forces killed and injured more people in occupied Jammu and Kashmir today, taking the toll since yesterday to 31 and causing further mass anger and declarations that “Pakistan has no place in Kashmir”.
For the second straight day, the Pakistani forces went berserk at several places, particularly in Mirpur and Rawalakot, and fired at peaceful protesters in a desperate attempt to crush the ongoing 52-day agitation against Islamabad’s illegal rule.
These territories of Jammu and Kashmir were annexed militarily by Pakistan in October 1947 after launching an invasion.
Several protesters were killed and hundreds injured due to firing by Pakistani forces in Chinar Chowk of Rawalakot today. Civilian properties were also destroyed.
Videos from various parts of POJK showed many people hit by bullets and bleeding on the roads. Several of them lay dead, while many were being rushed to hospitals in wounded condition.
Taking the brutalities to the levels of extremity, the Pakistani forces stormed hospitals and whisked away bodies of the people killed by them, to hide the casualties.
Because of this, the actual number of people killed is not known immediately.
However, according to Muzaffarabad-based Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Observatory (JKHRO), the total number of “verified martyrs” from July 27 till tonight is 31 in Rawalakot only.
Yesterday, the Pakistani forces killed 20 people as they resorted to firing from automatic rifles in Rawalakot.
The total number of people killed by Pakistani forces since June 5 reached 70 till 5 PM (Pakistan time) on Tuesday. Hundreds have been injured.
“The ongoing brutality in Rawalakot is worse than that of the Israeli army,” said Umar Nazir Kashmiri, a senior leader of Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).
“Bullets are being rained down on the public, and the wounded are being left to writhe and die. Grave violations of basic human rights are continuing,” he added while giving an account about the current situation in POJK.
He said Pakistani forces took over hospitals and forcibly shut medical stores so that first aid cannot be provided.
Referring to the extreme brutalities being committed by the Pakistani forces, Sardar Aman, another prominent leader of JAAC, declared at a rally tonight that “there is no place for Pakistan in Kashmir now”.
JAAC, in a social media post, also said that the region is “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” and not “Azad Kashmir” as claimed by Pakistan.
“Rulers, stop laying Holi with blood in our region. You are killing people like cutting carrots and radishes. But, now the end of your cowardice will be utterly horrific,” said JAAC, addressing the Pakistani regime.
“We are peaceful people, and in this peaceful struggle of ours, we have already sacrificed our precious youth. The public is carrying the corpses of their loved ones, yet nowhere has there been any violence from the public. …You may use your power to end our lives, but you cannot crush us by this oppression,” it said.
Addressing those Muslims who shed crocodile tears on Palestine, the JAAC said, “those who scream “Gaza Gaza Gaza”— Gaza was far away— Kashmir is just a few kilometers from you, where forces have begun a massacre. The genocide of Kashmiris is underway. Today is the time, breaking the idols of fear, to come out against this tyranny, oppression, and fascism.”
The Pakistani regime has unleashed extreme brutality to crush an ongoing agitation that began on June 5 against Pakistan’s political and other kinds of indulgence in the affairs of the region, which it ironically calls ‘Azad Kashmir (free Kashmir).
Kashmiris are on the streets for the last 52 days also for their basic rights and resources of the occupied region, which have been denied to them for the last 78 years by Pakistan after annexing it militarily in 1947.
“We want a solution to our issues. We are making it clear that if obstacles are placed in the way of basic necessities including medical services, then the responsibility for the severity of the situation will also fall on the rulers, institutions, and the powerful,” Umar Nazir Kashmiri said. (NVI)
