UKPNP chief accuses Pakistan agency of torturing PoK residents

Muzaffarabad [PoK], August 1 : Human rights activist and chairman of United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) Shaukat Ali Kashmiri has accused the Pakistani state agency of torturing the resident of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and said "let us protest."

Atrocities against the PoK residents are common in the region. Recently, a number of protestors sustained injuries in the Poonch area of PoK after security forces fired indiscriminately at them.
The incident took place on July 18 in which at least 65 locals have been arrested so far and some 30 of them have been booked under terror law, according to media reports.
Massive protests have been taking place across PoK over high inflation and denial of basic human rights by the Pakistani authorities.
In the PaaGali area of Poonch, the locals were holding protests on Thursday on the main highway when the Pakistani security forces and local police started firing indiscriminately to disperse them.
The people in PoK are denied basic rights and they have been facing numerous challenges like high inflation, poor education and health facilities.
Whenever they raise their voice for their fundamental rights, the security agencies use brutal force to muzzle dissent.
Earlier, dozens of angry residents in several parts of PoK blocked roads over Islamabad's harsh policies that are reportedly hurting the economic interest of locals.
PoK's four million residents have never been allowed to speak a word and address their political and socio-economic grievances.
Its high unemployment rate, poor infrastructure, and lack of resources force its citizens to migrate to large cities of Pakistan where they are only allowed menial jobs as labourers, cleaners at hotels, drivers, etc.
Pakistan is unable even to provide the bare minimum necessary to keep people alive in its colonized state, reported Asian Lite International.