Muzaffarabad [PoK], March 5 : The members of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) on Tuesday held a torch-bearing protest in the Muzaffarabad city of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) to raise their voices against the issues faced by the general public under the Pakistani administration.
The protestors raised slogans against the government and burnt torches made of black clothes to show their dissent.
They also demanded relief against extremely high inflation, hefty taxes, high prices of electricity and major unemployment in the POK region.
A local JKJAAC leader Shaukat Navaz Mir, while addressing the public at the site said that the people in the region have been facing "atrocities" for the last 70 years.
"We have been facing atrocities for around 70 years, they have kept us divided based on, influence and political standpoint. All of these parties have been dividing us, based upon their agendas. They use us for fighting elections, and because of them, we get involved in clashes because of them. I just want to ask all of those political parties who gave them the right to do so. And take decisions on behalf of us. I urge you not to fight for them, as you get divided all while they do not care for anyone," he said.
Mir also highlighted the issue of rampant unemployment and said that the Pakistani government is not helping the taxpayers, on whose money they are drawing huge sums of money.
"Whenever you see a government official in a big car, stop and ask them why are you using these big cars and why am I on the street protesting to get employment. This is your right, as you pay the taxes using which these officials enjoy their perks. They say that their budget cannot afford to give us any of the perks like, cheaper electricity, cheaper flour and other basic amenities. However, if we look at the numbers, the average expenditure of a Pakistani minister is around two crores (PKR) yearly, which goes out of our pockets," he said.
The leader also announced that the protests will resume on May 11 in the form of a long march as the holy month of Ramadan is around the corner. Mir also stated that JKAAC will also hold a protest at the Muzaffarabad assembly on the same day.
"But our protest will continue until we get our demands. As we have tried all the possible measures for raising our demands. We have tried to raise our voices, we have organised protests and sit-ins. We also participated in talks and received a useless notification. But the ground reality has changed," Mir further said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor