UKPNP convention in PoJK highlights human rights violations, development issues

Kotli [PoJK], August 25 : The United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) held its two-day-long annual central convention in Kotli, highlighting several issues, including human rights violations, development challenges in the region, and the misuse of the territory for breeding terrorists.

The event saw participation from a large number of people from different districts of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

A massive rally was also held in the Thorar region, with numerous attendees raising slogans against the Pakistani administration. Demonstrators carried banners demanding action from the PoJK government.

Reportedly, the PoJK region has been plagued by issues such as the unavailability of basic amenities, severe infrastructural underdevelopment, major power cuts, and brutalities inflicted on locals by defence forces.
Additionally, the people of PoJK have been vocal about their grievances, particularly the revocation of subsidies for essential items like flour and wheat.
While addressing the general public in Kotli, UKPNP leader Sajid Hussain stated, "The Pakistani administration has orchestrated several genocides. They are harming the Baloch community in Balochistan, the Pashtuns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Sindhis in Sindh. They aimed to orchestrate a genocide in the region of PoJK. They had raised the demand for deploying the Frontier Corps (FC), Punjab Constabulary (PC), and Rangers. All this resulted in the death of three youngsters, and we will never let their sacrifice go in vain. There is only one way to achieve our goals, and that is through peaceful protest."

He continued, "Under all conditions, we will continue our struggle in PoJK. We will keep raising our voices for our rights, for equality, freedom, and the establishment of democracy. Our struggle will continue to be peaceful and diplomatic. They have consistently tried to turn our recent protests violent, but they have not succeeded. We were not just protesting outside the UN or the UK Parliament; instead, we diversified our protests against the Pakistani administration to several other locations. We believe that harm inflicted on even one resident of PoJK is harm to the entire community."
Previously, the UKPNP condemned the administration's decision to deploy Pakistani defence forces in PoJK.
According to UKPNP's statement, the deployment, authorised by Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, was intended to quell the ongoing movement for people's rights in PoJK and was viewed as a betrayal of the Kashmiri people.
The statement emphasised that Pakistan's invasion of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir on October 22, 1947, resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Kashmiris and the forced division of the state, sowing seeds of communalism and ongoing bloodshed.
The UKPNP asserted that Pakistan lacks legitimacy in Kashmir and has no right to deploy its forces there.
This decision has drawn attention in the region, particularly following the incident that resulted in three deaths in Muzaffarabad, allegedly involving paramilitary forces during a peaceful sit-in demanding the release of detained activists by June 25.
Furthermore, the UKPNP has appealed to the United Nations and the international community to intervene and demand that Pakistan refrain from using force against peaceful protesters in PoJK.