PoK: Rally organized against injustice, poor living conditions

Muzaffarabad [PoK], February 12 : The United Kashmir People's National Party organised a rally against the government in Muzaffarabad against injustices and poor living conditions.
The protesters demanding free electricity, subsidies on flour, wheat, and essential food items, and ownership of natural resources.
"Whenever we protest against the injustice, we are called foreign-funded agents. The rulers are enjoying facilities from our taxes and they are making allegations against us only. I want to say to rulers that if they cannot give us the basic rights, then they have no rights to indulge in debauchery" a demonstrator at the rally said.

Earlier, the UKPNP had rejected the Kashmir Solidarity Day while holding discussions on People's Rights Day. The party extended its full support to Awami Action Committee which has been raising its voice in Gilgit-Baltistan against injustice.
UKPNP also held a seminar on February 11 in Torino which was titled "Strategic Perspectives: Current Situation & Realities and Future Prospects. Aspirations & Solutions in Pakistani occupied territories of Jammu Kashmir."
In the seminar, the party discussed the terrorist infrastructure of the PoK while demanding their dismantling. In the seminar, the participants attacked the tactics and strategies of Pakistan.
Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, the founder of the UKPNP said, "Without peace, you cannot educate your children. Without peace you cannot give honour to your people. If you will glorify the acts of gunmen, then they will rule the region, they will become the decision maker."
Earlier on Saturday, a massive protest erupted in Muzaffarabad city where people protested against miserable living conditions in the region.
A noted political activist, Toqeer Gilani, accused Pakistan of "betraying" the people of PoK compelling them to live a "miserable life."
A video went viral on several social media platforms, showing people from the PoK region coming raising with concerns that have remained unfulfilled for long.
In the viral video, Gilani can be seen addressing the people.
"The leaders of Pakistan today have become ignorant; they have stopped listening to our demands and are making us beg for our rights. For over 70 years, the leaders of POK have not been able to feed our people. They are not able to give us a bag of flour," he said.
Gilani further stated that "We unitedly stand here today to judge whether our leader has fulfilled their promises or not. No one who does not stand in solidarity with your intentions can be called a friend or a leader or even a supporter. Anyone who stands before you and says that 'the government of Pakistan stands with you and the army of Pakistan will fight for you and your rights' is fooling you and is nothing more than a con".
"Every day, we see how the administration and the Pakistani army are demeaning our demands and how they are arresting our activists and leaders, ultimately suppressing our voice for justice. We see every day how the security agencies are insulting our mothers and sisters. We see how the powerful people of this country are hurting people by orchestrating several bomb blasts in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and suppressing the demands of the poor people of Punjab province" he added.
Gilani in the video also mentioned, "The people of PoK today need to rise and fight for their own rights as the government is not ready to give them their rights. And the atrocities upon us have been continuing for several years now. They keep making claims over what they have given us over the period, but our situation has not improved at all."
Meanwhile, POK is regularly witnessing protests by the general public, who are demanding their rights by presenting a unified front against the regime.
Recently, the people of POK were successful in compelling the authorities to suspend tax collection after heavy protests. But as soon as the sit-in organised by the people of POK was taken back, the authorities started to ignore the accepted agreement.
However, the leaders of the protest from the Awami Action Committee have warned the authorities that the protest will be reinitiated if no substantial action is taken on the previously accepted demands of the people.