Islamabad [Pakistan], January 31: An exiled political activist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has shown his anger and resentment at the degrading economic and political situation in Pakistan and its occupied territories of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In an interaction with Mirza Shafiq Aleem, a citizen journalist, the Chairman of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP), Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, raised concerns over the atrocities and torture committed against the people who dare to stand against the Pakistani regime.
While explaining the situation Kashmiri narrated an incident when security forces used force against the peaceful protestors. He said, “There has never been a rule of law in Pakistan. Sometime back, the members of UKPNP were joined by several Baloch women who protested against the atrocities inflicted upon them by the Pakistani regime. At that time, the police forcefully snatched away their blankets amid peak harsh winters, and anyone who tried to help the protestors was stopped and threatened. All this was not happening on the outskirts of Balochistan. It took place in the middle of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and the whole world was watching silently.”
Recalling his own case of torture at the hands of Pakistan’s administration, Kashmiri said, ” I myself have suffered through these atrocities, and I know about the hardships that the family of any abductee has to go through. Every day for them is very difficult. It is quite possible that abductions of people by the authorities may happen in other countries too, but the level at which this happens in Pakistan is a different story. And till the time these heinous acts are not stopped, expecting justice, peace, and democracy in Pakistan is not sensible”.
Talking about the economic condition of the country, the political leader said that” nothing can be said about the country’s economic condition with surety. Pakistan is surviving because of financial help from the World Bank. And if just one tranche of this bailout package gets late, the country’s economic condition gets worse than it already is in Pakistan.”.
“On the other side, there is also an elite class in Pakistan that has every luxury imaginable at their disposal. These elite classes keep getting richer by the day, and the provinces that have no production capacity and contribute nothing to the GDP of the country get the majority of the bailout packages received from the World Bank. The common man becomes even poorer and is not able to afford even the most basic of necessities, like most essential medicines. In such conditions, hoping for a miracle that will improve the condition overnight is not possible” according to the political activist.
