- Protests continue in PoK despite Pakistani forces' deadly crackdown killing 37 in three days
- Women and children in PoK raised slogans from Indian freedom struggle in anti-establishment rallies
- India calls PoK elections a cover-up for Pakistan's illegal occupation and human rights abuses
Despite the bloody crackdown by Pakistani security forces, people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) continue to brave taking to the streets to protest against Islamabad's alleged atrocities in the region. Pakistani security forces have been using lethal force against the protesters, killing nearly 37 people in just the last three days of the flare-up.
Amid the brutal violence by forces led by Field Marshal Asim Munir, freedom fighter Ram Prasad Bismil's famous verse, "Sarfaroshi ki tamannah ab hamare dil mein hai, dekhna hai zor kitna bazu-e-katil mein hai (The desire to sacrifice our lives is now in our hearts, let us see how much strength is in the arms of the killer)" seems to have emerged as a slogan of resistance.
In a video circulating on social media, women and children in PoK were seen participating in the anti-establishment demonstration and raising Bismil's famous line popularised during India's freedom struggle.
They also raised the slogan of "Inquilab Zindabad (Long live the revolution)," which was coined in 1921 by the Urdu poet and freedom fighter Maulana Hasrat Mohani.
Another video, purportedly from PoK's Rawalakot, claimed that on the 28th day of protests that started on June 5, hundreds of people gathered at a bus stand in the region and raised the slogan of "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai...".
PoK Protest
A brutal crackdown by Pakistani security forces on protesters in PoK over the last three days has reportedly left more than 37 civilians dead and over 200 injured. Among the dead is Usman Nazir, the brother of Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) Central Committee member Umar Nazir.
JAAC has been leading the protests amid local body elections in the PoK that have been overshadowed by violence, allegations of electoral rigging and reports of enforced disappearances.
The region has been witnessing massive protests since last month over inflated living costs, alleged administrative apathy and political discrimination and atrocities against minorities.
New Delhi on Tuesday described the elections in PoK as an attempt by Islamabad to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its "grave" human rights violations in the region.
