Protest for freedom from illegal occupation of Pakistan intensifies in POJK; Demonstrators brutally attacked by police amidst media blackout

As Pakistan tries to vitiate the atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir and spread misinformation, the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) have intensified their movement against the illegal occupation of Pakistan. During the last 3 days, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the Mirpur-Muzaffarabad area of POJK, to protest against Pakistan. However, as the protests grew from strength to strength, the Pakistan Security Forces fired on them and even lathi-charged peaceful demonstrations. It has been reported that more than 50 protesters have been injured in police action.

Large scale demonstrations were witnessed in Kotli area on Friday and Hajira on Saturday. As the protesters started moving towards the Pakistan Army Post which is situated near the LoC, the security forces first lathi-charged them. When they did not relent, the forces opened fire to quell the protests. Since then, the number of injured in nearby hospitals has been steadily increasing.

Unsettled by the deteriorating situation in the Mirpur-Muzaffarabad area and fearing the protests from reaching other areas, Pakistan has blocked internet, mobile network and even basic phone services. Even the news of these protests in POJK has been blacked-out from media in other parts of Pakistan. The news of the freedom movement and large scale demonstrations have been exposed by several POJK freedom activists on social media. However, fearing embarrassment at the international level, Pakistan is now working overtime to remove all posts related to POJK protests on social media too.