PoK crisis
New Delhi, June 25: The crackdown by the Pakistani security agencies on those protesting in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) continues unabated and is getting more aggressive by the day, with the protesters refusing to back down.
Indian officials closely following the developments say that the atrocities have reached new heights now, and the security forces have begun selectively targeting women and children, irrespective of their age.
The situation is worrisome, an official said while adding that the Pakistani security forces have rewritten all rules and are targeting women and children. While women have been targeted in the past, the security forces have only imposed blockades on them from joining the protests. Today, they are firing at children and women.
In the Dhamol village, the Pakistani forces even resorted to shelling to stop women and children.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that apart from shooting at the protesters, the Pakistan establishment has blocked all routes that get food into PoK. This is the extent of brutality that one is getting to witness in the region, the official said.
People have been complaining about starvation and allege that the establishment is looking for ways to kill them.
An official said that at a time when the protesters are asking for basic amenities, the establishment is instead trying to starve them.
While there have been many protests at PoK in the past, these are the worst atrocities that the Pakistani forces have committed till date.
Another official said that the directives are coming from Field Marshal Asim Munir, and during a recent meeting, he pulled up officials and army personnel for failing to act in PoK. Munir has instructed his personnel to go to any extent to put down the protesters, even if that meant using brute force against women and children. Some of his personnel had warned him about a massive humanitarian crisis that such action may create.
However, Munir was in no mood to listen and ordered them to use as much force as possible. (IANS)
