Muzaffarabad [PoK], September 7 : Amid the ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) over high inflation and inflated electricity bills, a prominent political activist in Muzaffarabad said the region is heading towards a bloody revolution.
While interacting with Shabir Choudhry, a Kashmiri writer, Zahid Mughal lambasted Pakistan for systematically exploiting their resources, corruption and wrong policies of the establishment.
He said that people in PoK are forced to pay high electricity bills despite the region producing maximum electricity.
“The Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project produces 1100 MW of electricity and the total consumption of electricity in PoK is only 325 MW. We have a demand that PoK should be declared as a free zone because 1100 MW of electricity is only produced in Muzaffarabad. The total production of electricity in PoK is over 3000 MW”, he said.
Zahid, who is a prominent political activist based in Muzaffarabad said, “Pakistan is buying electricity from us at the rate of Rs 1.5 per unit. It again sells it to us at the high rate of Rs 52 per unit. PoK has requested Pakistan to provide the electricity at the same rate, but they started calling us traitors”.
The cost of electricity in cash-strapped Pakistan has doubled in the last three months resulting in widespread anger and protests.
In PoK, the people are even suffering due to heavy taxes on wheat flour and other necessities.
Zahid said that there is rampant corruption, especially in providing subsidised wheat flour to the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “There is corruption in the distribution of flour, they are involved in smuggling and it doesn’t reach the poor and needy people”, he alleged.
The activist said that protests are ongoing in PoK as they have been looted by Pakistan for over the past seven decades.
Zahid said that PoK is now heading towards a revolution. “When people fail to get their rights, they will come out on the streets and it will give birth to a rebellion. When the rebellion starts, the result will be daring."
He indicated that massive protests will be held across PoK and there will be a shutter-down strike. In areas like Poonch and Rawalakot, the people have started raising their disobedience towards Pakistan.
“This will be a bloody revolution because those who have kept us colonized for the past 75 years will not allow us to be independent easily. The army generals who have looted our money have been investing heavily in the region after their retirement," he told Shabir in his video interaction.
Zahid wants border trade with India to be opened and people-to-people contacts to be allowed.
“In 2005, the border trade was open between the two sides of Kashmir. Pakistan is responsible for creating a hindrance to the border trade and people-to-people contact. We are demanding that trade between Jammu & Kashmir and PoK should be reopened," he said.
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