Protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s (PoK) Rawalakot on Friday demanded the withdrawal of the Pakistani Army and paramilitary forces from the region, as Pakistan marked its Independence Day. Sardar Aman Khan, a core member of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), asked the Pakistani government and its “crooked” generals about the timeline for the withdrawal of the Pakistani Army from PoK under the United Nations resolution of August 13, 1948.
“Ye watan hamara hai” shouted people of PoK at a gathering in Rawalakot on Friday adding that for eight decades Pakistan has controlled PoK despite promises by several of its Prime Ministers that PoK will be a “free zone”. The demand followed firing by Pakistani forces at protesters in Rawalakot on Thursday evening. Locals also alleged that forces looted belongings from people’s homes. Among those injured in the firing was Bilawal, the first cousin of Sardar Aman Khan, who is leading the ongoing movement in PoK.
“Ye watan hamara hai” shouted people of PoK at a gathering in Rawalakot on Friday adding that for eight decades Pakistan has controlled PoK despite promises by several of its Prime Ministers that PoK will be a “free zone”. The demand followed firing by Pakistani forces at protesters in Rawalakot on Thursday evening. Locals also alleged that forces looted belongings from people’s homes. Among those injured in the firing was Bilawal, the first cousin of Sardar Aman Khan, who is leading the ongoing movement in PoK.
We pledge that the blood of the martyrs of the homeland will not go to waste, and time will prove that every drop of this blood has given new life to the movement for the state of Jammu and Kashmir (PoK),” said JAAC in a statement posted on X. Calling for the withdrawal of Pakistan’s armed forces from the region, Khan alleged that the Pakistani government was trying to divide PoK. “I want to tell you that in this gathering, every single man, woman, child, elder, and youth who are all present here—hang our dead bodies if you must, but we will not allow the division of Jammu and Kashmir (in PoK).” The JAAC said large numbers of women and children had joined the ongoing protest alongside their families and communities to raise demands for fundamental rights, justice and implementation of public demands. “Their participation reflects how deeply this movement has reached across society,” JAAC said.
