By Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza 2021 will not pass quietly in Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK, PoGB).
December 5th, Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee held a sit-in in Gilgit City at Etihad Chowk.
They demanded that the prices of basic necessities of living be brought down, that mining leases not be issued to non-residents be abolished, that ministers no longer receive Rs 40 crore in grants to buy executive cars, and that federal jobs be allocated at 4 per cent.
A larger protest was planned in Gilgit’s capital on December 8.The PoGB puppet government has been confronted by the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee, Metal, Mines and Gems Association, and Cable Operators Association.Their only demand is that all mining licenses issued non-residents be cancelled immediately.
According to some reports, the Pakistani military uses middlemen to obtain mines in PoGB.They do this by engaging private contractors from the Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions.
The state of Pakistan could sanction this demand by PoGB rights activists and cause political victimisation (read Jihadists).
Ibrahim Nagri, leader of GB People’s Rights Movement in PoGB, complained to this scribe that Pakistan was sending 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Kabul’s Taliban government, while GBans are starving.
He stated that the subsidy for wheat has been reduced by 20% and that the Imran Khan government now wants to eliminate the subsidy entirely.
Nagri stated that the PoGB wheat is not suitable for human consumption and is of substandard quality.
When cooked, the ‘roti’ becomes hard and black and is difficult to chew.He reminded me it was Ukrainian wheat.
Kasoro, Kharmang district has left 170 households with 90 bags of wheat.As winter sets in, snowfall could block the only road into the village.
Protests are being held demanding that at most three months of wheat be made available to deal with the snowy winter.
Due to lack of places, at least 2,000 students who were eligible for college admission have been denied.600 students are still waiting to be admitted to Baltistan University.Protests have already been started by students.
Inter College students in Nagar protest the lack of transport.The only college bus that used to transport students from far-flung areas has stopped working and many have had to walk miles to get to college.Students often arrive late and miss classes.
For months, ex-military servicemen have not received a pension and their families are suffering from the curse of starvation.Weekly protests have been held.
The rescue 1122 emergency services employees have not received salaries for six months.
They have also voiced their dismay at the prospect of starvation in their homes.The employees of Rescue 1122 will protest by striking, which will further hinder the already deteriorating emergency medical ambulance service. Parents are protesting in Shagar against the lack of teachers and toilets, first aid kits and drinking water facilities.The Superintendent of Police ordered checkpoints to be set up in Shagar because there was likely to be much protest.
A three-day Islamic evangelist event will be held in Chalas on December 17 by Tablighi Jamaat, (TJ).TJ has been promised by the deputy commissioner that they will be supported to the fullest.
This can only serve one purpose: to divert the attention of the masses from their daily struggle for rice and force them into religious fanaticism.
In my next article, i will attempt to shed light on the socio-economic issues in PoJK as well as the fight that we are fighting for our rights as an oppressed section of India living under the illegal Islamic Republic of Pakistan occupation.
Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza, an author and human rights activist from Mirpur, PoJK is Dr.Amjad Ayub Mirza.He currently resides in exile in the UK.His views are his own.
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