Huge protests rock PoK; locals demand freedom from Pakistan

Pic Courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Locals in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are hitting the streets to demand freedom from Pakistan.

Massive rally was organised by J&K National Students Federation in Jandali to liberate themselves from the clutches of Pakistan.

Local leader Liyaqat Khan, who took part in the protest accused Pakistan of sending terrorists into the region and ruining the peaceful environment.

Earlier in August, Misfar Khan, a politician from PoK slammed Pakistan for the atrocities committed by the forces on the locals.

He accused the political parties of Pakistan of looting the region, further saying that Gilgit-Baltistan were not a part of Pakistan.

Taifoor Akbar, a political activist in PoK said people living in the particular region are treated as slaves.

Exposing Pakistan's cruelty, Akbar said people of PoK are called traitors and are regularly abducted and thrown in jail in the name of National Action Plan.

“PoK locals are deprived of basic amenities, they have no roads, factories, even books are banned in the region,” the political activist said.

In 2016, PoK locals staged protest against the rigged July 21 election, which saw Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) winning 32 out of 41 seats.

The protesters had claimed that they were not allowed to cast their votes, and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and others rigged the polls in favour of Sharif's PML(N).