Pakistan faces backlash from Kashmiri diaspora over violent crackdown in PoK
Islamabad, June 18 (IANS) Pakistan is witnessing a steady unravelling of its geopolitical and domestic narratives, driven by the military regime’s “counterproductive obsession” with absolute power. By prioritising inflated defence spending over an economy on life support and deploying force against people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the authorities are actively manufacturing its own insecurity, a report has stated.
According to a report in the ‘International Centre for Peace Studies’, the very Kashmiri diaspora abroad that Pakistan historically weaponised to challenge India have now become its “fiercest critics”, exposing decades of state propaganda and leaving the regime internationally isolated and domestically compromised.
The report noted that the situation has taken a serious turn in the recent weeks in PoK, with innocent civilians being killed, arrested and forcibly disappeared, while threats are issued against ordinary residents.
“At the Rawalakot Eidgah and adjoining areas, at least 16 people were reportedly brutally killed in a single incident, and 37 others were injured. The bodies of several of those who were killed have reportedly not been returned, preventing their families from holding funerals. The Munir-led regime is scared that if the bodies are handed over, there will be huge crowds at funeral prayers, potentially leading to large-scale mobilisation,” the report detailed.
“By refusing to return the bodies of innocent Kashmiris, this regime is committing serious crimes against humanity and violating the basic principles of international humanitarian law. In addition, internet services have been shut down. There are also reports of the Pakistani army breaking open shop shutters and looting goods and belongings of businessmen and shopkeepers in the region,” it added.
The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a grassroots protest alliance in PoK comprising traders, transporters, lawyers, and civil society groups and known for raising demands related to basic rights, grievance redressal, and political and civil liberties, has been declared a proscribed organisation under anti-terror legislation by PoK authorities. A bounty of Rs 10 million has also reportedly been announced for information leading to the arrest of its core members, including Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, Khawaja Mehran Arshad, and Sardar Aman Khan.
“This shows the desperation of Asif Munir and highlights how Pakistan has been denying people there their civil, human, and political rights,” the report noted.
It further highlighted that members of the PoK diaspora across several countries, including at the United Nations and other international forums, have begun staging protests outside Pakistan’s embassies and consulates, particularly in the United Kingdom, including London and Bradford.
The Kashmiri diaspora has demonstrated outside Pakistani diplomatic missions, condemning the crackdown in PoK and voicing concerns over alleged human rights abuses, with some British lawmakers also drawing attention to the issue and urging international scrutiny.
“The very diaspora that Pakistan had invested in and cultivated over the years to protest against India is now turning against Pakistan itself,” the report noted.
–IANS
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