Every year on February 5, Pakistan observes what it calls Kashmir Solidarity Day. Officially, it claims to stand for the rights of Kashmiris. However, in reality, the day is about state-sponsored propaganda, designed to distract from Pakistan’s own human rights record, both in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and across regions under its control. Against this backdrop, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) has launched a sharp attack on Pakistan over its policies in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), accusing Islamabad of systematically oppressing people in PoJK and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) while projecting itself as a champion of Kashmiris’ rights.
In a video statement, Jamil Maqsood, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of UKPNP, said Pakistan’s actions expose the “mockery of the word solidarity.” “Pakistan, at one end, has occupied, marginalised and oppressed the people of Pakistani-occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir, commonly referred to as PoJK and PoGB, and on the other end, they are staging so-called solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Maqsood said. Calling upon Pakistan to withdraw from both regions, he added, “I, on behalf of the United Kashmir People’s National Party, warn Pakistan to quit both the territories and revive the fundamental political, social, economic, constitutional, democratic and human rights of the people of both peripheries under its occupation since 1947 and 1949, respectively.”
Maqsood claimed that widespread protests and demonstrations are currently underway in both regions against Pakistan’s policies, particularly opposing what he described as the bifurcation of the territory under Islamabad’s control. He warned that the proposed 28th amendment would further worsen the situation. “The so-called 28th amendment would further deteriorate the human rights situation in both regions,” he said. Appealing to the international community, Maqsood urged global powers to intervene diplomatically.
“We appeal to the world community that they should use their good offices and diplomatic clout in Pakistan to stop its policies of repression and demonising political activists, social rights activists and civil society under the guise of the so-called PICA Act and many others,” he stated. He further called on people living in the two regions to resist what he termed occupation. “I wish that the people of both peripheries would stand against Pakistani occupation and raise their voices for a united Jammu and Kashmir,” Maqsood said.