The UKPNP held a protest at the UN in Geneva, condemning Pakistan for the human rights crisis in PoJK. They cited the Rawalakot firing and demanded an international probe and the immediate withdrawal of Pakistani security forces from the region.
The United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) held a demonstration at the iconic Broken Chair monument outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Friday. The protest, timed to coincide with the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, sought to draw urgent global attention to the escalating human rights crisis in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Protesters gathered to condemn the actions of the Pakistani military and security forces, specifically citing the June 7 firing incident in Rawalakot that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. UKPNP leaders, including Jamil Maqsood and Amjad Yousuf, issued a clear call for international intervention. The party has formally urged the UNHRC to press Pakistan to withdraw its security forces from the region and end the ongoing “siege” of Rawalakot.
Leaders Demand International Intervention
Organisers demanded an independent international investigation into the use of force against civilians and the suppression of peaceful dissent. Jamil Maqsood, President of UKPNP’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told ANI that the party protested against coercive measures and terrorism inflicted on people in PoJK, highlighting atrocities in Rawalakot. He urged UNHRC intervention to press Pakistan to withdraw its security forces from the region. “We demand the international community and the United Nations Human Rights Council to use its office to ask Pakistan to withdraw its security forces and end the siege of Rawalakot,” he said.
‘Total Military Occupation’ in PoJK
Amjad Yousuf, member of the United Kashmir People’s National Party, said the region is under a complete military crackdown, with the Pakistani Army ignoring people’s basic demands. “Currently, two lakh people are staging a sit-in in Rawalakot, demanding the fulfilment of their basic rights. However, the authorities have declared the Kashmiris’ action committee, a non-political platform formed to advocate for their rights, to be an outlawed organisation and have placed bounties on the heads of its members. ” He told ANI the situation in the region remains tense and grim, with cuts to medicine and food supplies severely affecting essential services.
“The situation on the ground is dire. Hospitals and schools have been shut down; the injured are being loaded onto military trucks and taken away rather than receiving proper medical care. The region is currently under total military occupation, while the local leadership has fled in fear,” he added.
According to representatives from the UKPNP and the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the situation in PoJK remains critical. Reports indicate that the region is reportedly under a state of total military occupation, with authorities branding the local Action Committee as an outlawed organisation and placing bounties on its members.
For the past 12 days, normal life has been paralysed, with severe shortages of food and medicine. Schools, hospitals, and internet services remain largely inaccessible. Activists alleged that the injured are being detained rather than treated, and that the local leadership has been forced to flee due to fear of persecution.
While official accounts from Pakistan have attempted to portray a return to normalcy, the JAAC maintains that these claims are contradicted by the reality on the ground. The Geneva demonstration serves as a centrepiece of the UKPNP’s ongoing campaign to internationalise the struggle for human rights and justice in the region, ensuring that the plight of those in PoJK is not ignored by the global community.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)