GILGIT CITY: Streets of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan occupied Kashmir is rife with protesters moving against human rights abuses and crackdown by the Pakistani security forces. Over 500 youth, including Baba Jan, top political activist, were earlier taken into custody.
They were accused of raising anti-Pakistan slogans and demanding that the Pakistan army leave the region. While protests have been going on for months, the one in the weekend focused on the release of Baba Jan, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined Rs 500,000 by the Supreme Court of Appeal in June. A Pak senator who was part of the group said that Gilgit-Baltistan is a peaceful region, but the situation can't remain the same if the issue isn't settled. "In principle, the region can be made the fifth province of the country. Discrimination against this region is far more than what we had thought before visiting."
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an all-party meeting to discuss the recent violence in Kashmir. He asserted that "PoK is ours", adding that there was a need to track people who had fled to the region. "Foreign ministry should take initiatives to develop contact with citizens of PoK settled abroad and apprise them about how their family and friends are treated there."
