Activist groups protest against Imran govt's appointment of 'extremist elements' in PoJK

Activist groups are raising voices against the Imran Khan administration’s appointment of “extremist elements” in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to Just Earth News, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP)’s Central Secretary and Director for Committee on Foreign Affairs (Brussels and Eastern Europe) wrote a letter to the Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee in the EU Parliament, David McAllister and President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen regarding the appointment of extremists people in PoKJ. 

The UKPNP opposed the Pakistan government and military for deploying undemocratic tools to undermine local governance in PoJK. In the letter, the group cited the specific case of an associate of a Pakistan Army General bagging an important post in the PoJK administration after flouting local rules. They said that Irfan Ashraf was appointed as Direct-General Kashmir Cultural Academy even after openly threatening the public with weapons and being seen with Talibani terrorists during elections in the region. 

Moreover, the UKPNP also mentioned other extremist appointments in PoJK by the Imran Khan-led government. They mentioned Mazhar Saeed, who was given a ticket for elections of the local legislature of PoJK by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party. They said that earlier Saeed was associated with the TTP (Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan), which has claimed multiple terror attacks in the nation, including the 2014 Peshawar Army School attack that killed over a hundred children. 

Activists highlight human rights abuses, corruption in PoJK

Citing human rights abuses and rising corruption in the region, the activist group also went on to underline the issue to European lawmakers. UKPNP stressed that local youth are deprived of job opportunities, women are deprived of primary health care and young girls are vulnerable at the hands of the Pakistani army in the region. 

In a public meeting, the Jammu and Kashmir Awami workers party also highlighted the issue of people affected by the hydropower project in Patan Sher Khan. They condemned Pakistan’s hypocritical policy in PoJK and complained that many mega hydel power projects are being constructed in the region without any consultation with the PoJK government. 

(Image: ANI/AP)