Like our Facebook Page

news details

Simmers of dissent in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Karan Bandesha 9/2/2011 12:29:51 AM The Pakistan government, regardless of it being civilian or military or civilian controlled by military as is the case now, has a uniform policy of exploitation so far as the unfortunate region of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) concerned. The political establishment of POK, which is invariably a stooge of the ruling dispensation, leaves no stone unturned to exhibit a very rosy picture about the socio-political conditions prevalent over there. What eludes the eye is that deep beneath this layer of deceit and blatant opportunism there is a very palpable disgust for Pakistan. Many in POK, including its large Diaspora in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, find India's handling of its state of Jammu and Kashmir more commendable. There is a growing awareness that while India has respected Kashmir's age-old practice of not allowing outsiders to settle down in the valley, Pakistan has allowed over 28,000 Afghan and Punjabi families to settle down and fleece the local populace in the name of Jihad. This is part of a diabolic plot to change the demographic pattern of the region so as to nip in the bud all possibility of dissent. This also gives an opportunity to the feudal segment of Pakistan to deploy enough manpower to be utilised for the systematic loot of the Province which is rich in natural resources. Azad Kashmir today is neither Azad (Free) and nor is it inhabited Kashmiris. It is always the ruling party, or a Pakistan Army sponsored party when the country is under military rule, which forms a government over there. In yet another sham of an election the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has lived up to this tradition and managed to install a puppet government of its own choosing and from its own party which has, predictably, won the elections with a clear majority. Choudhary Abdul Majeed, a known PPP loyalist has been made the Prime Minister and Sardar Muhammad Yaqub Khan, an erstwhile member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference who joined the PPP a little before the assembly elections has been rewarded for his defection by being appointed the President. Thus the stranglehold is, once again, complete. The newly appointed President has not taken too long to establish his intention to toe the PPP line despite being in an apolitical appointment. In his address after taking oath, he roundly condemned the arrest Ghulam Nabi Fai despite it having been established that Fai was involved in underhand lobbying sponsored by the ISI. He further said that his top priority would be the Kashmir issue as his ancestors had "liberated the territory of Azad Kashmir" and their mission has to be completed, so much for reconciliation.The army never stays far behind in taking a piece of the pie in POK. The entire administration is in the hands of the army and the ISI. The army runs the schools, the water department, the power stations, and the transport. Mohammed Mumtaz Khan, a senior leader from Rawalakote has gone on record to state: 'Pakistani army is using POK as a training camp for terrorists, as for development, the area lags behind Jammu & Kashmir by ages, where development had moved at almost the same pace as that of other cities in India.' The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRPC) has opined that people in POK have suffered gross violations of their rights, from being continuously 'watched and monitored' by Pakistan's ISI to denial of basic fundamental rights including access to judiciary and fair trial. As per HRPC 'People feel that their and political rights have been infringed under the guise of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, which prohibits activities that are prejudicial to public safety". With the Mohajirs, the Balochis, the Pashtuns and the Sindhis in open revolt against the government seen to be Punjabi (Army) dominant, there is no semblance of a Nation state in the geographic area which passes off as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In this turmoil the biggest victim are the people of POK and Northern Areas who are undergoing rampant colonisation. The recently held elections and the installation of the puppet government has laid the framework of continued exploitation in the long run.The will of the people cannot be suppressed in perpetuity and in POK also simmers of dissent are coming up. Altaf Hussain, the exiled London based leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), in a telephone conversation with Sardar Atique Ahmad Khan, an ex-Prime Minister of POK, said, "Everyone in Pakistan is aware of the fraud in the recent Azad Kashmir elections." "The current government is authoritarian and not a democratic government," he added. There are voices of protest coming up from within the local populace also ; those actively involved in this crusade to obtain justice are Shabir Choudhry's Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Abdul Hamid Khan's Balawaristan National Front, All Party National Alliance, Karakoram National Movement, Karakoram Students Organization, Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization and many others. These political organisations have, time and again, reiterated their demand for empowering the people of POK and Northern Areas to decide their future both political and economic outside the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The time has arrived for the world, led by India, to intervene in this highly oppressed region and pressurise the government of Pakistan to pay cognisance to the just demands of the people.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

top stories of the day

STOCK UPDATE

BSE Sensex NSE Nifty

CRICKET UPDATE