POK resident’s plea to Modi to save him from harassment exposes Pak atrocities over Kashmiris

Abdul Hamid Khan

The intense urge of the citizens of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) to live peacefully in a democratic way and away from the political interference of Pakistan and the growing influence of China in the region at the behest of Pakistan seems a dream now as the resident Kashmiris are being harassed day in and day out by the Pakistan army, police and local administration.

The indifferent attitude of the Pakistan sponsored local administration and police is now forcing the residents to look towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for help and to reclaim what belongs to India but has forcefully been annexed by Pakistan.

A video of a resident from PoK is now going viral where he could be heard seeking help from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save him from the harassment thus exposing yet again the series of Pakistan’s atrocities in the region.

In the two minute-long video, the man identified as Malik Wasim originally from Kupwara and currently living in POK is seen highlighting how authorities in PoK’s Muzaffarabad have forcibly evicted him from his house and let him and his children off on the streets in winter.

He then goes on to say that the land originally belongs to non-Muslims and Sikhs and then seeks India’s intervention in the matter.

Seeking Modi’s help, he asks him to come and teach these people a lesson as this land belongs to you and these people have leashed a reign of terror on the local residents.

Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza, a vocal Kashmiri activist in an opinion piece in News 18 says that the family of the man in question “migrated to POJK in 1947 and was allotted a house in Muzaffarabad as there were thousands of empty properties that originally belonged to Hindus and Sikhs who were either massacred during 1947-48 communal genocide or had somehow managed to escape to Jammu.”

He further writes that it was in these properties that the Kashmiri Migrants (Partition Migrants) were housed and over a period of few years were given ownership rights.

“Over decades the prices of these properties soared from few thousand rupees to crores. Influential people are allegedly bribing the local government officials who deal with real estate to change the ownership of these properties to middlemen from where they can buy the property.” Dr Mirza elaborates.

It is this rampant bribery and indifference towards Kashmiris in POJK that is compelling the residents to come out in open and seek India’s help as they feel that it is Modi who can do this and can intervene even though the man is also seen seeking help from Putin.

The level of harassment, atrocities and grip of Pakistan army over that part of Kashmir is such that people normally hesitate to even utter a word against the barbarities but as they say when someone is pushed to wall then he has only one way to go and that is to face the challenge which the residents of POJK are no doing.

Dr Mirza while lauding the courage of this man says, “I can assure you that it takes a lot of guts or only when in a state of utter despair that someone living in the POJK would record such a statement and then share it on social media. To call India for help is treason in Pakistan.”

He adds, “for 74 years, my people have been deceived by successive governments both in India and Pakistan regarding our future which still remains in limbo.”

According to Republic World, “There have been multiple cases of people being forcibly evicted from their homes by powerful persons in PoK. Residents have repeatedly demonstrated against the authorities over human rights violations and crimes against religious minorities in the region.”

It is worth mentioning that last year in September, hundreds of demonstrators flocked to the streets in PoK’s Pallandari region, demanding freedom from Pakistani clutches. The protestors accused Islamabad of treating them as second-class citizens for the past seven decades, claiming that their rights had been violated. Earlier in July also people of PoK had raised slogans demanding ‘Azadi’ from the Pakistan government after the results of the elections in the region were announced. In a video that surfaced on social media, PoK citizens were seen sloganeering against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government demanding ‘Azadi’ from them.

In the meantime, India at the UN said that the crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts enjoyed not just state protection, but five-star hospitality, in a veiled reference to the D-company boss, Dawood Ibrahim, believed to be in hiding in Pakistan.

Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, told the International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022 organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Council that links between terrorism and transnational organised crime need to be addressed vigorously.

“We have seen the crime syndicate responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts not just given state protection but enjoying five-star hospitality,” he said.

Apparently, Tirumurti was referring to D-Company and its head Dawood Ibrahim, who is thought to be hiding in Pakistan.

For the first time, Pakistan acknowledged Dawood Ibrahim’s presence on its soil in August 2020 after the government imposed sweeping sanctions against 88 banned terror groups and their leaders that included the name of the underworld don wanted by India.

In another report by ANI, many local people and activists of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have criticized Pakistan’s Government for undermining local administration in PoK and raised their voice against the close affiliations between extremists and the Pakistani army.

Pakistan has appointed Irfan Ashraf as Director-General of Kashmir Cultural Academy despite being seen openly threatening the public with weapons and accompanied by Talibani terrorists during elections in PoK, according to Just Earth news.

Irfan Ashraf’s posters even displayed the photographs of Chief of Army Staff, Qamar Javed Bajwa, signalling connections between the Pakistan Army and extremists.

In another such case, Mazhar Saeed, a former associate of Tahreek-Taliban- Pakistan (TTP), a banned terrorist organization in Pakistan, was given a party ticket by Imran Khan to contest the seat reserved for Ulema and Mashaikh.

Locals have appealed for help to the international community because of Pakistan and China’s violations of their human rights, massive corruption in the PoK Government and the dying democracy.

Youth are denied work prospects, women are denied primary health care, and young girls are susceptible to the Pakistani military in the region, according to the report.

The youth’s future in PoK is further jeopardised by a lack of economic possibilities and corruption in development programmes.

The atrocities and the indifferent attitude of Pakistan government towards Kashmiris is a testimony of the duplicity of Pakistan and how it befools Kashmiris by promising greener pastures.

It is imperative upon our youth to keep away from political and other engagements and focus their attention towards their future so that they don’t get wasted in the big political games being played by the nations.