Geneva [Switzerland], June 10 : Exiled chairman of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, UKPNP central spokesperson Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan and UKPNP Foreign Affairs Committee President Jamil Maqsood, along with the central leadership of the party has strongly condemned the arbitrary arrest of Kashmiri journalist Usman Tariq from Neelum, in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
UKPNP released an official press statement in which party leaders emphasised that the retaliatory actions against journalists in PoJK represent a flagrant violation of press freedom and an alarming height of suppression of freedom of expression.
In the statement, the UKPNP leaders said that the retaliatory actions against journalists in PoJK represent the height of oppression of the free press. It demanded that freedom of expression and freedom of the press and media must be honoured.
The UKPNP cited Articles 19 and 19A of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), emphasizing that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
UKPNP leaders highlighted that Pakistan is treating the disputed territories of PoJK and Gilgit Baltistan as its colonies, violating international norms. They noted that PoJK has been declared a "security zone" where the international community, including human rights observers and journalists, are denied access.
The statement said, "They further said that those who raise legitimate concerns about human rights violations, unemployment, underdevelopment, rising extremism and terrorism, and systemic injustice are being targeted by the puppet administration in Muzaffarabad under the direct influence of Islamabad."
UKPNP urged the United Nations, international human rights organisations, and media watchdogs to intervene and hold Pakistan accountable.
The regions of PoJK and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan have faced discrimination and human rights violations for decades. People are being denied basic human rights and have many times raised their voice and the regions have witnessed massive protests on various occasions, however they have got nothing but only false promises.
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