Muzaffarabad (POJK), Sep 29 (NVI) A complete shutdown was observed today in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan where lakhs of people came onto the streets and demonstrated against the exploitation and denial of rights by the Pakistani regime.
According to unverified claims by some locals, the Pakistani forces are “killing” protesters but the actual details are not coming because of total blackout of information, including shutdown of Internet, imposed by the occupying regime.
There are claims about Pakistani forces firing at protesters at some places, which have resulted in casualties. But confirmation is awaited.
Described as the ‘Azad Jammu Kashmir Rights Movement’, the protest campaign was marked by anti-Pakistan slogans which roared and echoed across the occupied territory today.
Spearheaded by the Awami Action Committee (AAC), the massive protests have unnerved the regime in Islamabad, which shut down Internet and imposed information blackout besides moving thousands of military troops into the occupied territory from Punjab Province with an aim of crushing the agitation.
Due to the clampdown on information, much details were not immediately available.
But locals, who were able to pass on some information, said, ‘Azad Kashmir’ (the misnomer for POJK) is under siege and people are protesting for their rights. Forces are killing the protesters. There is total blackout and Internet is off. There is a huge lockdown.”
A local also said that the mainstream media of Pakistan was spreading lies regarding the agitation.
The people of PoJK have several grievances, particularly regarding efforts by Pakistan to change demography and character of occupied Jammu Kashmir Gilgit and Baltistan besides looting of the region’s resources and denial of their rights.
They have 38 demands, which include abolition of 12 seats in POJK Assembly reserved ostensibly for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan.
The local Kashmiris say these seats go to the puppets of the Pakistani regime and that, in turn, affects decision-making by the Assembly against the interests of the locals.
Their demands also include implementation of reforms promised last year; renegotiation of hydropower rates so that locals benefit; strengthening of local governance/accountability; and assortment of political-administrative fixes.
They also want subsidised flour for PoK and reduction of power tariffs by linking these to the cost of generation done locally from Mangla Dam.
The locals say that electricity generated from Mangla Dam in POJK should be provided to the local population at the cost at which the generation takes place, instead of the high rates extracted by the Pakistani regime.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the locals are decrying the taxes collected by the Pakistani regime from them. They say it is against even the Constitution of Pakistan. (NVI)
