Broken promises spark fresh anger in PoK, protests expected to intensify

New Delhi, Jan 2 The calm that was restored in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) in October is all set to end with talks being called off between the PoK’s Joint Awami Action Committee and the government.

In September, protests had erupted in the region during which several organisations had made multiple demands relating to development. The government of Pakistan intervened and agreed to fulfil all their demands.

However, now, the committee has accused the government of orchestrating an eyewash and said that not a single demand has been met. It has refused to hold any talks with the government, thus signalling the start of protests once again.

An Intelligence assessment says that the protests are likely to be bigger than the last time. This is not the first time that the Pakistan government has gone back on its word. This has left the people of the region extremely frustrated.

The approach that the government has towards PoK is the same that one gets to witness in Balochistan. People of both regions accuse the government and top Army officials of indulging in corruption. They say that their resources are used and all developmental works are carried out in top cities of Pakistan, while the two regions remain extremely neglected.

The Joint Awami Action Committee which had signed an agreement with the government on October now says that their demands must be fulfilled first. At the time of the signing of the agreement, it was decided that the committee and government would meet every 15 days to review the progress. However such a meeting has taken place only thrice in the past three months, which has led the committee of accusing the government of an eyewash.

The government had also promised to remove the names of several committee members from the Exit Control List (ECL). It was also assured that the FIRs against them would be withdrawn and the issues relating to the refugee seats would be resolved. However not a single demand has been met and this has angered the members of the committee.

The committee says that everything that the government has done since the October 3 agreement has been tripe. A committee had been constituted by the government to address the issues of refugee seats. However, the committee would only address specific issues. This the PoK committee says is nonsense and they want all issues to be resolved at once.

It further said that partial measures would not do and this time it is not buying into the assurances that the government is making. Indian officials say that these developments are not surprising and this has been Pakistan’s stance always where PoK is concerned.

Officials also warn if the issues are not sorted on an urgent basis, then the protests could become intense and a spillover into India cannot be ruled out.

Another official said that it is the Pakistan Army that calls the shots. It has appointed several retired army officials to deal with middlemen in the region. They are tasked with tapping into the resources available in PoK. The people have accused these officials of diverting all the funds to the main parts of Pakistan, while not making any improvements to the region.

Further a lot of funds that are generated from these resources are usurped by army officials, who have been accused of large scale corruption. These issues have also caused a stir within the army. Recently, a letter by the Guardians of Honour accused Field Marshal Asim Munir of incompetence, oppression and corruption.

An official said that the Pakistan government has for long lied to the people of Pakistan by making false assurances. It has done so yet again and the people of the region are getting impatient.

It is just a matter of time before the situation in PoK would go beyond the control of the establishment in Pakistan, the official also added.

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