Islamabad: As escalating unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) entered its 36th consecutive day, thousands gathered in Rawalakot, where Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) leader Sardar Amman Khan accused Pakistan of “forcibly occupying” the region and rejected Islamabad’s long-standing narrative on the occupied territory.
Calling PoK an “occupied territory” rather than a “disputed territory,” addressing the gathering on Tuesday, Khan said, “This is not a disputed territory. It is an occupied territory. It is forcibly occupied.”
He vowed that the movement would continue until “victory,” saying that the struggle would not end even if protesters had to lay down their lives.
The massive gathering echoed with slogans against the Pakistani authorities, with demonstrators declaring that their struggle would continue until “victory” was achieved.
Meanwhile, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) on Wednesday strongly condemned the killing of six civilians in Pok by Pakistani forces amid the mounting protests in the occupied territory.
Reports suggest that six more civilians were killed after Pakistani security forces opened fire during clashes in Rawalakot amid rising anti-government protests in the region.
The UKPNP called for “an independent international investigation into the reported killings, excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and the continuing restrictions affecting civilians.”
The party called on the government of Pakistan to immediately end the use of excessive and lethal force against peaceful civilians; stop unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and enforced disappearances; and produce all detainees before competent courts and ensure due process.
It also urged the authorities to restore unrestricted access to food, medicine, healthcare, and humanitarian assistance, lift communication restrictions, and guarantee freedom of movement in the occupied territory.
The UKPNP further appealed to the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the wider international community to deploy an independent international fact-finding mission to PoK, conduct impartial investigations into all reported killings and alleged human rights violations and monitor the human rights situation on the ground.
These ongoing protests across PoK have emerged as a direct challenge to Islamabad’s decades-long control, with Pakistani forces unleashing a brutal crackdown that reportedly left dozens of civilians dead and injured, while the region remains under a strict blockade, curfew, and a total communications blackout.
(IANS)
