Food Supply Restrictions Become Latest Challenge for PoJK Protesters

This is the 9th day of the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir protest. Over 70,000 protesters are gathered at Rawalakot in the Eidgah ground for their demand for 38 rights. 

For the past 3 days

Protest organisers alleged that authorities had prevented trucks carrying essential goods from entering several areas of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

 Items such as wheat flour, rice, vegetables, and fruits were restricted from Pakistan to PoK in different parts of the border areas. There is a line of 30 to 40 trucks at almost every border, which the Pakistani Rangers and Punjab Highway and traffic police are not allowing to enter PoJK.

Killed leader before the protest

According to reports, amid the PoK protest running from 9 June, on 5 June itself, the Pakistani government and army started firing on the leaders Umar Nazeer and Shahzeb Habib, in which Shahzeb died and people sat down with his dead body. But Pakistan did not stop here; on 5–6 June, Pakistani Rangers fired on the public and killed 26 people.

After this, when the protest started on June 9, firing took place in Bhimber, Dadyal, Kotli, Mirpur, and Rawalakot on June 9 and 10, in which 11 people were killed. After this, many people gathered from different places to Rawalakot, and during Fajr prayers on 11 June and 14 June, they fired on people offering prayers on the road. In this, 16 people died on 11 June and 3 people died on 14 June.

Over 50 people killed

Now, even after killing 56 people, when the Pakistani government could not stop the protest, it has now stopped food trucks from entering PoK from 15 June, so that it can pressure the people.

According to sources, when Awami Action Committee activists questioned a truck driver about why he was standing at the border and who had stopped him, he bluntly replied that it was Pakistani officials. 

However, this pressure from the Pakistani government is not working on the people of PoK, and this morning, amid heavy rain, a large number of protesters remained at the Eidgah grounds, and women chanted slogans for independence on the streets.