Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has rejected the demand of the civil society of Pakistan occupied and Kashmir (PoK) to register their data as citizens of PoK. By Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has rejected the demand of the civil society of Pakistan occupied and Kashmir (PoK) to register their data as citizens of PoK. The census being conducted right now is adding the data of PoK citizens as Pakistanis. This is not only a serious breach of the United Resolutions that have classified PoK as the disputed territory between India and Pakistan, but by denying the people of PoK to be identified according to their ethnicity and linguistic identity, Pakistan is blatantly committing a crime against the people of PoK. The ongoing 52nd session of the United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva must take note of this humanitarian injustice that is aimed at erasing our identity as a nation. Let me remind you that this is not the first attempt by Pakistan to undermine our freedomand subjugate our people. On the night of October 22, 1947, the Pakistan army attacked the sovereign state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the first Kashmir war, more than 100,000 civilians of Jammu and Kashmir was killed by the Pakistan army, many of whom were of Hindu and Sikh faith. Pakistan's occupation of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan has resulted in the total destruction of our culture, political liberties, economic independence, and social fabric. For 75 years Pakistan has followed a well-formulated plan to systematically alter our identity as a nation. First and foremost, Pakistan altered our geographical unity by facilitating the forceful divide of our independent state of Jammu and Kashmir. Secondly, Pakistan imposed Islamic statutes in an attempt to convert our people into Hindu/ India-hating religious fanatics set up jihadi terrorist camps across PoK where jihadis from Punjab and Khyber Paktoonkhawa were brought for training in the art of terrorism. In short, Pakistan orchestrated the death of our indigenous culture by suffocating it with issuing dozes of Islamic dictates, thereby establishing the religious hegemony of Islam at the cost of the destruction of indigenous cultures. Thirdly, Pakistan crippled our political liberties by conditioning any political activity with loyalty to the state of Pakistan. The fact of the matter is that the United Nations has given us the right to choose between Pakistan and India, however, we are not allowed to campaign for reuniting with India as per the instrument of accession signed between the last king of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh and the last viceroy of British India Lord Mountbatten. If a resident of PoK dares to speak about a reunion with mother India he/she is persecuted, executed, like the late Arif Shahid advocate who was gunned down by Pakistan's secret services outside his house in Rawalpindi on May 13, 2013, or the way Ghulam Abbas was shot in the face at the doorstep of his house in June 2021 in Kotli PoK. Fourthly, Pakistan has ruthlessly conducted the plunder our natural resources. Our minerals scattered all over PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan are being dug out day and night without the consent of the local population. Our rivers have been diverted in order to construct hydropower projects that supplies electricity to Pakistan. While the whole of the occupied region suffers from up to 20 hours of load shedding a day. Our development funds have been stopped and the governments of both PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan have no cash to pay wages or pensions. And finally, the coherent social fabric of our societies and the right to individual freedom of choice has been ripped apart by the introduction of medieval traditions such as mandatory wearing the hijab in schools, colleges, and universities. An Islamic authority by the name of Rehmat fulfill Alameen has been set up in PoK to further the religious tyranny of Islam at the cost of our indigenous cultural practices. Islamic religious ideology is made sacred by banning any form or shape in which Islamic laws imposed upon us might be challenged. Cult worship around the personality of the last prophet of Islam, Muhammed, has been enforced by the state that condemns anyone who thinksotherwise with blasphemy and condemned to death. The question is what is the UNHRC going to do about this? Is the UNHRC going to organise a fact-finding mission and send it to PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan to obtain first-hand information about our plight and present it to the general council or is the 52nd UNHRC session beingheld in Geneva yet another eye wash. For now, all sections of PoK society have rejected the census that is being conducted by Pakistan. Dr. Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur in PoJK. He currently lives in exile in the UK. 

Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), a US-based think tank for US-India policy studies and awareness, urged US President Joe Biden to reject Pakistan's appointment of the 'Jihadi-terrorist-sympathizer', Masood Khan, as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States. Notably, Masood Khan's nomination was sent to Washington by Pakistan Foreign Office in November last year. The think tank in its press release said that the diplomatic role of Masood Khan in the United States may open an avenue for access for terrorist organizations to U.S. institutions. Furthermore, it rebuked Masood Khan's "former active role as President of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, a territory of India that is illegally occupied by Pakistan" and said that it "would complicate US relations with its strategic partner India." "Human Rights Watch reports that the Pakistani government represses democratic freedoms, muzzles the press, and practices routine torture in the POK. During his rule, various official press releases published by Khan's presidential office included support and praise for terrorists such as Junaid Sehrai and Tariq Ahmed Hizbul.", the thinktank said. It further thrashed Khan and mentioned, "Khan said they are martyrs and called their terrorist acts sacrifices. His firm support of terrorists and separatists in Kashmir will create uneasiness and unwarranted complications in US-India relations when the US may need India's active involvement in the India Pacific region, Afghanistan, and Eurasia." FIIDS also requested US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and members of the Senate and House committees on Foreign Relations to support this rejection, the press release said in its statement. "Masood Khan has repeatedly demonstrated a soft spot for Jihadi-terrorists, including Aafia Siddiqui, a convicted terrorist operative known as "Lady Al-Qaeda." His support to designated terrorist organizations under U.S. law, such as like Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), and Jamaat-e-Islami, is not only inimical to US Interests but also to global peace.", the US-based institute said in its statement. In addition to that, the institute also noted that Masood Khan's support to the Taliban would further adversely affect US interests in Afghanistan. The think tank gave some specifics of Masood Khan's support to Jihadi-terrorists and US-designated terrorist organizations. It said that Masood Khan is a supporter of Aafia Siddiqui, "the lady AI-Qaeda," and had tweeted on May 7, 2020, as "@AmbassadorJones: The US Government can find a way to free Aafia Siddiqui. Washington has negotiated a peace deal with the Taliban, once considered inveterate enemies. Room must now be created for Aafia's freedom. Long overdue." Furthermore, it pointed out that in 2019, Khan shared a stage with Fazlur Rehman Khalil, designated global terrorist and founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), designated as a terrorist organization under US law. "Masood Khan is also a supporter of Jamaat-e-Islami, whose killing squads helped the Pakistani military carry out acts of genocide against Bangladeshis in 1971 when hundreds of thousands of minorities were raped, killed and millions were displaced. ", FIIDS added. The thinktank also said that on the fifth death anniversary of dreaded terrorist Burhan Wani, a former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen - a designated terrorist organization under US law, Khan had called out Burhan Wani as a "role model for the freedom fighters across the globe." Source: The New Indian Express  

Pakistan Opposition parties reject Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) in electricity bills under the Imran Khan government and demand for a refund of the amount. Pakistan Opposition parties urge the imposition of exorbitant fuel price adjustment (FPA) in electricity bills and urged the federal government to refund the additional amount charged under this head to consumers in the next month's bill, according to the Dawn. Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Aimal Wali Khan said in a statement on Thursday that a court had already declared the excessive FPA as illegal, adding that extorting billions of rupees from the poor people under this head was intolerable. Aimal Wali said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was unable to raise its voice for provincial share in the national resources, particularly for the pending Rs 650 billion net hydel profit (NHP), to initiate some development schemes in the province."It was duty of the federal ministers and other lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to play their role for release of the pending NHP without any delay," he said. The ANP provincial chief said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was producing hydel power at the minimum price of Rs1.50 per unit, but the people had to purchase it at Rs18-20 per unit, which was a sheer injustice, according to the Dawn. Earlier, In Swabi, two separate protest demonstrations were held on Thursday against fuel price adjustment in the electricity bills while terming it a great injustice with the people. The Da Haq Awaz, Swabi, organised a protest march which was participated by local leaders and workers of various political parties in Peshawar. Protesters chanted slogans against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government for charging a big amount of money under the FPA from the power consumers, according to the Dawn. They claimed that the FPA issue could not be resolved by the government as the expenditures of luxurious lifestyle of the rulers were being transferred to consumers this way.Addressing the protesters, Ihsanul Haq, head of the Da Haq Awaz, said that their struggle would continue till the removal of FPA from the power bills. Further, another opposition party Jamaat-i-Islami held a protest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Topi tehsil and its leaders and workers marched through the main bazaar while chanting slogans against the ruling party, according to the Dawn. The protesters waving the electricity bills said they were not in a position to pay the heavy inflated bills. Source: ANI