Pak Action In Gilgit Illegal, Unconstitutional: PoK Activist

Calling the Pakistan government’s decision to make Gilgit Baltistan a fifth province ‘illegal and unconstitutional’, Pakistan occupied Kashmir activist Shabir Choudhry said people of the PoK should formulate appropriate policies to fight back Pakistani imperialism.

Asserting that Islamabad is fooling people in the name of development, Choudhry, a London-based writer, on Tuesday said that if Prime Minister Imran Khan had any sympathy with the people of Gilgit Baltistan, then he could have declared to abolish Schedule four, which restricts fundamental rights of the people; and other anti-people laws which allow secret agencies to curb fundamental rights of the people.

He added that Imran Khan could have declared to release all political prisoners, like Baba Jan and dozens of other people imprisoned for demanding fundamental rights.

“In view of the looming threat, the Prime Minister of so-called Azad Kashmir needs to formulate appropriate policies, and may consider visiting Britain where more than one million citizens of Azad Kashmir reside,” said Choudhry

“If they wanted to empower the people of Gilgit Baltistan and carry out development programmes, they could have done that in 73 years of their occupation. To develop a region, one does not need constitutional changes. What is required for development and to empower people is a clean heart and will, which is absent,” he added.

Choudhry remarks came days after Imran Khan had announced the granting of provisional-provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan, Geo News reported.

This comes following Saudi Arabia removing PoK and Gilgit Baltistan from Pakistan’s map.

Massive protests have been taking place against the Imran Khan-led government over the issue of Gilgit Baltistan.

This announcement is likely to spark massive outrage as it will have much wider implications which will set the tone for exacerbating tensions, that are already being played out in the east along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China border.

The activist said that Pakistan has totally exposed itself by declaring Gilgit Baltistan a province.

“People of Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistani occupied Jammu and Kashmir should take note of this and formulate appropriate policies to fight back Pakistani imperialism,” he said.

“What suffering people of Jammu and Kashmir have endured since 1947, and especially after 1988, that is as a direct of wrong policies of Pakistan, and we need to learn from that,” he added. (ANI)