AR Bhat
Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) has largely been kept behind closed doors by Pakistan rulers & government. The locals there are being oppressed regularly and are not even allowed to voice their concerns since their illegal occupation by Pakistan. The Kashmiris of PoK are way far behind as far as the overall development in Pakistan is concerned which itself is in a sad state of affairs. The residents of PoK are facing problem of poor infrastructure, lack of jobs, and have no government welfare schemes. Over and above this, due to strict press control and lack of legitimate mouthpiece for voicing and representing their political and socio-economic grievances, they do not have adequate means of expressing dissatisfaction with the Pakistani government’s regional policies and are suffering from under development.
The Pakistani government has historically neglected basic development needs in PoK, which is suffering from poor infrastructure, lack of availability of resources and technology. The Pakistani government has not taken sufficient measures to encourage development-oriented investment in the region and even local political and social activists are continuously blaming the Pakistan government machinery and especially Pakistani army which is the main force for keeping the region’s people underprivileged. Both Pakistani government machinery and Pakistan army are busy in making plans and arranging funds of sponsoring terror for creating disturbances in Jammu & Kashmir without looking inwards. They make false propaganda of Human rights violations by Indian government & Indian security agencies while at the same time continue to harass the locals in PoK who are under their forced annexation since 1947.
There is no hidden truth that Pakistan wants to keep the Kashmir issue internationally alive to divert the attention of international community and to conceal its atrocities in PoK. Pakistan is unleashing its terror by imparting training to terrorists in the areas of PoK which is acting as its breeding ground for terrorism so that they can be push into the Indian soil. According to some reports, there are numerous terror camps running in PoK for creating an anti-India sentiment in Kashmir. The amount which otherwise can be utilised for creation of better local infrastructure, employment opportunities and other welfare schemes is being diverted for its own sponsored terror and false propaganda in Kashmir and the resultant cost of the same is born by our own brethren in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan makes hue & cry with regards to underdevelopment in the Kashmir valley which is totally a white lie. When compared with Pak occupied Jammu & Kashmir, we have much better developed road network infrastructure, railways, government welfare schemes, effective government machinery, education and health sector.
The lie in the Pakistani propaganda can be gauged by comparison of education field which is the basis of any development in the society across the world. At present, Pak is spending only 135 Cr Rupees on education in PoK while our government is spending an average of 1100 Cr Rupees on education in J&K. Even the figures of universities and education institutes (183 universities and colleges including 18 medical colleges) in Jammu & Kashmir is far more than a total of only eight such institutes in PoK including only three medical colleges. PoK has similar neglected state in health sector too. The poverty rate in PoK is 34% which means every third person is below poverty line in PoK. Suppressive policies of Pakistan against local Kashmiris of PoK are ranging from forced disappearances, torture, political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. According to their own, Pakistan Human right commission, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) carries out extensive surveillance operations on the press and the groups are led by local residents of PoK and are constantly carrying out arrests leading to torture, disappearances and custodial deaths. Similar incidences have reported by number of International human rights watchdogs in regards of curbing of basic freedom, political repression. To aggravate the matter further, none of the Pakistani Security agencies are being held accountable for such grave human rights violations.
Local activists and leaders of regional political parties are being targeted openly by Pakistani security agencies mainly ISI for protesting and raising their voices against misconduct of Pak Army. Some reports also suggest that locals who refuse to join terrorist groups for infiltration into the Indian Territory are either getting killed or get disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Same has been reported in a document of Human Rights violation in PoK by United Nations, “Restriction on the rights to freedom of expression and association, impact of counter terrorism on human rights, land rights, restriction on the freedom of religion as belief and enforced on involuntary disappearances”. Thus, it is clearly evident that people in PoK are being oppressed regularly and Pak is promoting a false narrative of such oppression in a peaceful Jammu & Kashmir.
