PoK’s Rawalakot honours its martyrs as locals fume over Islamabad’s response

Islamabad, Aug 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Red roses adorn memorials on the streets of Rawalakot honouring the dead, and shops remain shuttered in the city in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) which has witnessed deadly clashes between locals and Pakistani forces over the past many months resulting in dozens of deaths.

"Roughly three weeks ago, on the street outside his house, Haji Hasan Azizi says he watched security officials with large guns 'firing indiscriminately on unarmed people'," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported from the city which has been the epicentre of months-long protests.

"We picked up the dead bodies; we put them in ambulances and carried some on our shoulders... This is the spot where a boy was martyred. His name was Noman. He was from Singola village, two to three kilometres away from here," Hasan told the ABC.

"Another witness in the city, Mumtaz Khan, said he saw tear gas fired by police, and then bullets that were so big, they left holes in the walls of his home," the ABC report added.

Australia's leading public service media organisation reported further that, ever since the alleged shootings, the city's central bus station has been bursting with hundreds of protesters demanding change and fuelled with grief and anger.

"Many told the ABC they were shocked at how lethal the government's response has been," the report mentioned, highlighting that even local journalists hired by foreign media, often called "fixers", are restricted from gathering information amid the internet and mobile coverage shutdown imposed by the Pakistani authorities.

Locals told the Australian network that many of the injured were taken to their homes for treatment because the hospitals had closed.

"We provided whatever treatment [we could] … we covered their wounds with our scarves. We [only] thought they would use tear gas. We had sticks and stones in our hands," Hasan told ABC, adding that people were now struggling to buy food because authorities were stopping deliveries entering the region, and the government had cut electricity to some areas.

Last week, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has been leading the protest, urged the international human rights groups and media to monitor the situation in PoK.

The video shared by JAAC on X showed several people gathered in a room while a man was undergoing treatment. In the video, the man said that a person was injured after security forces open fired at people in PoK and vowed to continue the protest.

While sharing the video on X, JAAC stated, "Two people have been injured following firing by security forces in Rawalakot. The use of force against civilians is deeply alarming. We call for an immediate end to violence and urge international human rights organisations and the media to closely monitor the situation on the ground."

The JAAC statement came hours after thousands had gathered in various protest rallies held in PoK on Thursday where the locals slammed the brutal violence unleashed by the Pakistani forces over the past many months.

Several videos were posted on social media platforms, including by JAAC, showing people gathered in large numbers on the streets of Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Bokhara and Mandhol to express their anger against the Pakistani security authorities.

"Once again, the people of Rawalakot took to the streets in support of the Action Committee and raised their voices against the forces' brutal violence," JAAC posted on X.

A large number of women and children carrying flags held a protest rally in Bokhara and chanted slogans like "inqilab ayega" (revolution would take place). Similarly, thousands of women and children held a protest rally in the Mandhol area of PoK's Poonch district.

While nobody knows the exact number due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by Islamabad, several human rights activists have stated that over 100 people have been killed and several more injured during the ongoing clashes in the PoK.

The most extensive confrontation between the local population and the Pakistani state in decades initially began over increasing prices of electricity and essential commodities. It later transformed into a movement calling for political reforms, greater accountability, and representative government.

Source: IANS