The United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) has exposed Pakistan for operating terror camps, violating human rights, and exploiting natural resources in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit Baltistan during an event at the United Nations.
The event, titled “Human Rights in Pakistan,” took place during the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday.
Speaking at the event, Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, the chairman of UKPNP, said, “We are facing forceful divisions, religious hatred, and draconian laws imposed by the government of Pakistan. Our natural resources are being plundered, our forest land is allotted to the Pakistan Army, and all the tourist resorts in PoK are now occupied by the Pakistan Army. In the name of green tourism, again the government of PoK has sold the land.”
Kashmiri further emphasised that Pakistan has no locus stand on the Kashmir issue.
“Pakistan has no locus standi on the Kashmir issue; it is a disputed territory, and we do not allow Pakistan to occupy and further destroy our environment,” he said.
Kashmiri urged the world community and regional forces to intervene and protect the people facing slavery under Pakistan.
“I have repeatedly asked the world community that the terrorist infrastructure is still intact in PoK, and our land is being used as a launching pad. Our freedom of expression is totally compromised, and newspapers with any links to PoK are now facing the worst kind of persecution,” he said.
The speakers also accused Pakistan of exploiting natural resources from the occupied regions, leading to significant environmental damage.
Nasir Aziz Khan, the central spokesperson of UKPNP, highlighted various issues including exploitation of natural resources, land grabbing, terrorism, and extremism.
He said, “More than 22 teenagers have been forcibly taken by extremist groups in the Bagh area of PoK for the purpose of ‘Jihad.’ They will be trained and sent to Afghanistan and the Indian side of Kashmir.”
“We are here to ask the international community and the United Nations to intervene to protect the life, liberty, and property of Kashmiris living under Pakistani occupation,” Nasir added.
Dr Rabil Razzaq, a central leader of UKPNP, expressed deep concern about the situation in PoK, highlighting rampant human rights violations, limited access to education, poor infrastructure, and inadequate healthcare services.
Political and human rights activists also raised the issue of the kidnapping of Kashmiri children from cities across Pakistan.
Jamil Maqsood, a human rights defender and leader of UKPNP, stated, “The incidents of children being kidnapped from various cities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi were highlighted before council members and the international community. We demand that Pakistan recover those children and also revive fundamental human rights, political rights, social, and economic rights of PoK and Gilgit Baltistan.”
Moreover, activists from PoK and Gilgit Baltistan have been consistently raising their voices against Pakistan’s atrocities in the region on various international platforms, demanding urgent intervention from the United Nations to protect the fundamental rights of the people.