Islamabad, Aug 3 (IANS) Amid the ongoing unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has shared a video on social media platform X showing Pakistani forces dragging and assaulting an unarmed civilian on the road in Muzaffarabad city of the occupied territory.
The JAAC urged the United Nations, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, international media, and diplomatic missions to examine the footage, independently verify the facts, and press for an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the reported events.
While sharing the footage on X, the JAAC stated, “We call on the United Nations, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, international media, and diplomatic missions to examine this footage, independently verify the facts, and press for an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the reported events. We also urge the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to closely monitor the humanitarian situation and ensure that those who are injured and other civilians affected receive protection and humanitarian assistance in accordance with its mandate.”
Earlier in the day, JAAC put forward the proposals aimed at promoting peace, stability and meaningful dialogue. The group said that the decision was taken despite the grave situation in PoK, where security forces opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilians.
On Sunday, people in PoK continued to participate in the long march that began on June 9. The JAAC said that the protest held on Sunday demonstrates that the movement is rooted in the demands of the public for fundamental rights, justice, and the implementation of commitments made by the authorities.
“The Long March that began on 9 June continues. Despite weeks of arrests, killings, injuries, and intimidation, the people continue to march with determination. Today’s protest is another reminder that this movement is rooted in the people’s demand for fundamental rights, justice, and the implementation of commitments made by the authorities. This movement belongs to the people. As long as those legitimate demands remain unmet, the voices of the people will continue to be heard,” the JAAC posted on X.
A large number of people held a sit-in protest at D-Chowk in Rawalkot of PoK on Sunday and prepared to start a peaceful long march towards Muzaffarabad.
According to a statement released by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), security forces have been carrying out intermittent heavy firing. The JAAC said that women and children were holding a protest sit-in at Dreak, and it will continue until the demands of the movement are acted upon. The protesters shouted slogans like “Aawaz do hum ek hai, Kashmir ke pahadon mein hum ek hai.”
While sharing visuals from the protest site on X, the JAAC said: “Rawalakot: At D-Chowk, the public is staging a temporary sit-in protest, and a peaceful long march toward Muzaffarabad could commence at any time—security forces are carrying out intermittent heavy firing. However, no martyrdoms have been reported in Rawalakot.”
“At Dreak, where a protest sit-in was held for 50 days, women and children are now maintaining the sit-in, and it will continue until the movement’s recognised demands are acted upon. The Kashmiri people, united as one nation, have resolved that under no circumstances will they betray the blood of their martyrs,” it added.
On Saturday, JAAC member Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri said that more than 50 people have been killed and hundreds injured over the past four days in a brutal crackdown by Pakistani forces in PoK. The actual death toll is anticipated to be much higher.
–IANS
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