Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 6: BJP State general secretary and MLA Kathua, Rajiv Jasrotia today said Pakistan always accuses India of human rights violations in Kashmir and now it is time for India to mobilize the international opinion against the HR violations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“Pakistan always accuses India of human rights violations in Kashmir. This is an opportunity for India to draw the attention not only of the Government of Pakistan, but of the international community, to the repression and the suppression of the people` aspirations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and in Gilgit Baltistan,” Jasrotia said during zero hour in Assembly while raising the issue of PoK people.
“This is a known fact that people in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan are very unhappy. The videos demonstrate clearly that unhappiness. They have come into media attention recently but the unhappiness is very old,” he added. The Kashmir issue has bedevilled Indo-Pakistan ties for the past 68 years. People in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are demanding a merger with India, thus weakening Islamabad`s Kashmir rhetoric against India at various foras, he maintained.
He further pointed out that residents of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir have been suppressed and tortured by Islamabad since 1947. “There has been a simmering discontent among people from PoK for a long time. It is because of the discrimination suffered by this region as compared to other regions of Pakistan. This is not in terms of development but also in the basic facilities provided with respect to health care and education.
“I can say that there is a common opinion that people on PoK are being deliberately oppressed in comparison to other provinces of Pakistan. Even elections are farcical as more often the Prime Minister of PoK is elected by powers in Islamabad. The deprivation of democracy and discrimination has had an effect which is a matter of concern for everybody who has an interest in J&K, he added.
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