PoK is remembering 'Rawalkot martyrs', people are very angry with the government!

Rawalakot in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) has been in the news for the last few months. Pakistani army crossed the limits of barbarity against unarmed people who were speaking for their rights. Many innocent people lost their lives in the violence. The people are remembering these martyrs with great enthusiasm. Red roses have been placed at monuments and shops have been closed in their honour.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reached the city where the Pakistani army had wreaked havoc on innocent people and which had emerged as the main center of protests for months. Local Haji Hassan Azizi said that about three weeks ago he had seen security personnel with big guns 'indiscriminately firing at unarmed people'.”

“We picked up the bodies; put them in the ambulance and carried some on our shoulders. This is the place (gesturing) where a boy was martyred. His name was Noman. He was from Singola village, two to three kilometers from here,” Hasan told ABC.

The ABC report further said, “Mumtaz Khan, another man in the city, said he saw police fire tear gas, and then so many bullets that there were holes in the walls of his house.”

Australia's leading public service media organization further reported that, following the shooting, the city's central bus stand was filled with hundreds of protesters. They are demanding change and are angry.

“Many people told the ABC they were astonished at how the government's response could have been so brutal,” the report said. Local journalists hired by foreign media (often referred to as “fixers”) were also prevented from gathering information amid the internet and mobile coverage shutdown, the people said.

Locals told The Australian Network that many of the injured were taken to their homes for treatment because hospitals were closed.

“We did whatever treatment we could… We covered their wounds with our scarves. We just thought they were going to use tear gas. We had sticks and stones in our hands,” Hassan told ABC.

He further said that people are now struggling to even buy food items, the administration is not allowing deliveries to reach the area, and the government has even cut off electricity in some areas.

Last week, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which is leading the protests, appealed to international human rights groups and the media to monitor the situation in PoK.

In a video shared by JAAC on Twitter, several people could be seen gathered in a room while a man was being treated. In the video, the man said that one person was injured in security forces firing on people in PoK and vowed to continue the protest.

Sharing the video on Twitter, JAAC said, “Two people were injured in firing by security forces in Rawalakot. The use of force against civilians is very worrying. We demand an immediate end to the violence and appeal to international human rights organizations and the media to closely monitor the situation on the ground.”

JAAC's statement came hours after thousands of people gathered in separate rallies in PoK on Thursday. Local people criticized the brutal violence being carried out by Pakistani forces for the last several months. A large number of women and children carried flags and raised slogans like “Inquilab aayega” (there will be revolution) in a demonstration rally in Bokhara.

The Pakistani government has imposed such restrictions that the number of deaths cannot be accurately estimated. Meanwhile, many human rights activists have claimed that more than 100 people have been killed and many injured during the PoK violence.

This big conflict between the local people and the Pakistani government started over the rising prices of electricity and essential commodities. It later transformed into a movement demanding political reforms, greater accountability and representative government.