People in PoK desperate for freedom from Pakistan govt: Activist

Highlighting the atrocities comitted by Pakistan in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Amjad Ayub Mirza, an activist from PoK, told the United Nations that people in the region are "desperate" for freedom from Pakistan government and want to join the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Highlighting the atrocities committed by Pakistan in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Amjad Ayub Mirza, an activist from PoK, told the United Nations that people in the region are "desperate" for freedom from the Pakistan government and want to join the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Speaking during a dialogue on the 'Right of Development' in the UN Human Rights Council, Mirza, who heads the UK-based rights group Center for Environmental and Management Studies, said that anti-terrorism laws imposed by the Pakistan government are being used as a tool to crush any dissent.

"We have urged the United Nation to address the case of foreign occupation of Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir. But the world seems to have been hypnotized by the fake narrative spun by Pakistan government," he said. "My people are desperate to take freedom from Pakistan and join Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. I request the United Nations to lend me an ear if it wants to end the desperation of my people," he added.

Speaking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the activist said that under the multi-billion dollar project, rivers are being diverted for hydropower projects and this is leading to water shortages in PoK. "Under CPEC our rivers are being diverted for hydropower projects and these projects are causing water shortages. The projects would forever destroy the ecology of our region. Scores of young men from Gilgit-Baltistan are serving 70-90 years of imprisonment for protesting against the plunder of our national resources," he said.

"Anti-terrorism laws are used as a tool to crush any dissent. Our women refuse to take cover in the bunkers during cross border firing because Pakistan soldiers molest them," he added.