Brussels, February 5 (ANI) — Pakistan observes February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day, presenting itself as a champion of Kashmiri rights. The United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) calls that claim state-sponsored propaganda designed to divert attention from Pakistan’s own human rights record in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).
In a video statement, Jamil Maqsood, president of the UKPNP Foreign Affairs Committee, said Pakistan’s actions expose the “mockery of the word solidarity.” He accused Islamabad of occupying, marginalising and oppressing people in PoJK and PoGB while portraying itself as their defender.
Maqsood urged Pakistan to withdraw from both regions and to restore the political, social, economic, constitutional, democratic and human rights of populations who have lived under occupation since 1947 (PoJK) and 1949 (PoGB). He said widespread protests are ongoing in both territories against Pakistan’s policies, including resistance to a proposed bifurcation of the areas under Islamabad’s control.
Warning that a proposed 28th amendment would further damage human rights, Maqsood appealed to the international community to apply diplomatic pressure to halt what he described as repression and the demonisation of political and social activists under laws such as the Public Safety Act/PICA. He also called on residents of both regions to resist occupation and to press for a united Jammu and Kashmir.
(This report is from a syndicated feed and is published as received; The Tribune assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.)
