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YOU FAILED ME! Victims join women’s rights group to protest police failures in UK

Another victim, Sunita Goswami, described how she had been thrown out of her marital home – which she shared with her husband and two children…reports Asian Lite News

Members of the Indian Ladies in UK (ILUK), one of the largest Indian migrant women’s groups in the UK, gathered outside the headquarters of Britain’s biggest police force to protest the repeated police failures in protecting vulnerable migrant women.

The protestors made impassioned pleas for police forces across the country to improve awareness of the unique circumstances faced by migrant women.  They also implored those in positions of authority and power to address the serious lack of understanding in how to handle cases of the physical, emotional and psychological violence endured by these individuals.

These victims’ circumstances present unique challenges – they are in an entirely alien environment; they lack a support network; their visa status means that they are often unable to access public services; language and cultural barriers mean that, quite often, reporting abuse is as terrifying as experiencing it; above all, a lack of understanding of the law and their legal rights hampers their ability to obtain help and support.

Among those participating in the demonstration was ‘Pallavi’ (name changed to protect victim’s anonymity), a young woman originally from Indore in Madhya Pradesh who moved to the UK in 2017 after marrying a British citizen.  Soon after she began suffering abuse at the hands of her husband, the only person that she knew and relied on in the UK.  After months of mental, emotional and physical abuse she was locked out of her marital home with no family, no support.  She was left homeless and without any possessions.  When she reached out to the police for help – at the very least to retrieve her personal belongings – they refused even to register a complaint.

Pallavi became emotional at the demonstration, repeatedly telling the officers there: “You failed me!  When I was out on the streets alone, abandoned by my husband and with no support, you failed me!  When I was being threatened repeatedly by my husband’s family, you didn’t even register a complaint.  You failed me!”

Another victim, Sunita Goswami, described how she had been thrown out of her marital home – which she shared with her husband and two children.  She was falsely accused of being “mentally ill”, a favourite refrain of the perpetrators, and sent to a mental asylum, only to be released within hours after doctors found nothing mentally wrong with her.

When she reached out to police, they once again failed to register a complaint and refused to help in any way.

This inability to provide assistance has led to organizations like ILUK having to take matters into their own hands.  ILUK founder Poonam Joshi, who led the demonstration, said: “The worst part of my work is having to help women whose lives have been destroyed by the men they have entrusted their lives, only for them to be repeatedly let down by a policing and justice system that treats them like second class citizens.  The times where I have had to call police officers and remind them of the rights that women have or to coerce police forces to offer help are countless.  Also, we have been forced to take the law into our own hands because the situation has become so desperate and it is US having a word of warning with husbands to let them know about the protections and rights of women.  

 “Tens of thousands of women have been put at risk because of the widespread failure of police forces across the country to tackle domestic violence.  These failures are doubly damaging to first generation migrants because they not only have to contend with the trauma of abuse but then have to deal with a system that lacks understanding of the support that they require and urgently need.

“Often the default position is to take the abuser’s word at face value because these particular victims are unable to articulate what they are going through and are unable, unwilling or too fearful to demand their rights – either because they just aren’t aware or through cultural factors.  We need a dramatic change in police attitudes, empathy and education of officers who deal with these victims.”

Another supporter, Bhavini Patel, articulated the unique burden carried by these victims.  “Police don’t realize the emotional labour that we carry as migrant women.  Communities don’t realize the extra burden of being migrants in a foreign land, to be able to contend all those challenges while also dealing with abuse.  These women are extraordinary and while they have the support of their sisters, the justice system needs to do far more and far better to help them.  It’s just not good enough at the moment”.

Joining members of ILUK at the demonstration – many of whom left work early to participate in solidarity with victims – were representatives of Sikh Women’s Aid, another community organization that helps victims of domestic abuse victims across the West Midlands.

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Streets and fields seethe with protest in France

For French President Emmanuel Macron, the look of determination on their young faces only heralds deepening crisis…reports Asian Lite News

A big day has come for French high school student Elisa Fares. At age 17, she is taking part in her first protest.

In a country that taught the world about people power with its revolution of 1789 — and a country again seething with anger against its leaders — graduating from bystander to demonstrator is a generations-old rite of passage. Fares looks both excited and nervous as she prepares to march down Paris streets where people for centuries have similarly defied authority and declared: “Non!”

Two friends, neither older than 18 but already protest veterans whose parents took them to demonstrations when they were little, are showing Fares the ropes. They’ve readied eyedrops and gas masks in case police fire tear gas — as they have done repeatedly in recent weeks.

“The French are known for fighting and we’ll fight,” says one of the friends, Coline Marionneau, also 17. “My mother goes to a lot of demonstrations … She says if you have things to say, you should protest.”

For French President Emmanuel Macron, the look of determination on their young faces only heralds deepening crisis. His government has ignited a firestorm of anger with unpopular pension reforms that he railroaded through parliament and which, most notably, push the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.

Furious not just with the prospect of working for longer but also with the way Macron imposed it, his opponents have switched to full-on disobedience mode. They’re regularly striking and demonstrating and threatening to make his second and final term as president even more difficult than his first. It, too, was rocked by months of protests — often violent — by so-called yellow vest campaigners against social injustice.

Fares, the first-time protester, said her mother had been against her taking to the streets but has now given her blessing.

“She said that if I wanted to fight, she wouldn’t stop me,” the teen says.

Critics accuse Macron of effectively ruling by decree, likening him to France’s kings of old. Their reign finished badly: In the French Revolution, King Louis XVI ended up on the guillotine. There’s no danger of that happening to Macron. But hobbled in parliament and contested on the streets piled high with reeking garbage uncollected by striking workers, he’s being given a tough lesson, again, about French people power. Freshly scrawled slogans in Paris reference 1789.

So drastically has Macron lost the initiative that he was forced to indefinitely postpone a planned state visit this week by King Charles III. Germany, not France, will now get the honor of being the first overseas ally to host Charles as monarch.

The France leg of Charles’ tour would have coincided with a new round of strikes and demonstrations planned for Tuesday that are again likely to mobilize many hundreds of thousands of protesters. Macron said the royal visit likely would have become their target, which risked creating a “detestable situation.” Encouraged by that victory, the protest movement is plowing on and picking up new recruits, including some so young that it will be many decades before they’ll be directly impacted by the pushed-back retirement age. Their involvement is a worrisome development for Macron, because it

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Fresh protest outside Indian High Commission in UK

The British High Commissioner Alex Ellis condemned the “disgraceful acts” outside the Indian High Commission, calling it totally unacceptable…reports Asian Lite News

Suspected pro-Khalistan supporters on Wednesday held a fresh demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in the UK. However, unlike the earlier demonstration during which the Tricolour was taken down and an attempt made to raise the Khalistan flag, the protest this time was confined behind police barricades.

The barricades were ‘put up’ following protests by the Indian diaspora against the vandalism of the UK consulate by suspected extremist and separatist elements. Since the weekend, several uniformed officers had been patrolling the area in Aldwych and Metropolitan Police vans were stationed at India Place.

Earlier on Wednesday, barricades from outside British High Commission in New Delhi were removed.

The seniormost UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned on Sunday night after the Indian High Commission was vandalised, the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release earlier.

An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of British security that allowed suspected pro-Khalistan elements to enter the High Commission premises. The diplomat was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK Government under the Vienna Convention.

“India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK,” the MEA release said.

The British High Commissioner Alex Ellis condemned the “disgraceful acts” outside the Indian High Commission, calling it totally unacceptable.

“I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the High Commission of India – totally unacceptable,” British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeted earlier.

The desecration of the national flag last Sunday led to an unprecedented outpouring of support from the diverse Indian community settled in Britain. (ANI)

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Indian diaspora plans London protest over BBC documentary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Indore

The diaspora is agitated as the documentary comes on the heels of weeks of violence in Leicester, the tenth largest city in the UK, a report by Rahul Kumar

The BBC documentary on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised a storm among the diaspora. Feeling insulted by the documentary, the Indian diaspora in the UK is holding a protest against the British broadcaster on Sunday afternoon, January 29.

The British Broadcasting Corporation’s documentary, “India: The Modi Question” has raised a storm not just in India but also among the diaspora. Part one of the documentary, which has already been aired on January 17 puts the blame of the Gujarat riots on Modi, who was the state Chief Minister when the riots took place in 2002. Part two will be aired today-January 24.

Looking at the sensitive nature of the documentary, the Indian government has banned it from being shown in the country. It has also been taken off Youtube for its divisive content and for fear of creating hatred between communities over incidents that took place two decades back. Indian courts have already given their verdicts and sentenced people of both communities for the violence.

Riots broke out in Gujarat after a Muslim mob set fire to a coach of the Sabarmati Express at the Godhara station. Fifty-nine Hindus, including women and children were burnt alive in what is known as the Godhara train burning case.

India Narrative spoke with Indians in the UK about their protest and their grievances against the BBC.

London-based consultant, Adit Kothari, who has been active in the diaspora movement says, the British Indian diaspora is enraged, agitated & frustrated with the BBC’s deliberate attempts to run covert and sometimes overt malicious Anti-India and Anti Hindu agendas. While with the protest, we may see no change within the BBC to organisationally address our concerns� but we have to demonstrate our displeasure at the BBCs attitude.

The diaspora is agitated as the documentary comes on the heels of weeks of anti-Hindu violence in Leicester the tenth largest city in the UK. The communal violence, which took the British society and the local police by surprise, was directed at Hindu symbols and homes by the local Muslim youth. Weeks of attacks on Leicester’s Hindus led to many families moving out of the city due to threats and fear.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with his United Kingdom counterpart Rishi Sunak on the first day of the 17th G20 Summit, in Bali on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

The Leicester violence against the Hindus was fanned by fake social media posts by Muslims. The misinformation on social media targeted Hindus and instigated Muslim youth to attack Hindus. Many of these fake posts were published by the British mainstream media like The Guardian and the BBC without verifying, leading to independent investigations into the Leicester violence which highlighted the spread of fake news against the local Hindu community.

British Hindus feel that the BBC documentary will create a similar situation in which the Hindus can again be targeted because of biased coverage.

Kothari says: It is important to raise awareness not only within the British Hindu and the Indian diaspora but also among other communities in Britain so that they get aware of this nefarious (anti-Hindu) agenda. Giving an example, the Indian activist says that the BBC has once called Holi a filthy festival and Jai Shree Ram a provocative slogan which has hurt our sentiments.

The activist says that the protest against the BBC is to raise awareness about the BBC failures regarding its journalistic standards and the royal charter-which aims to provide impartial, high quality and distinctive journalism, to its viewers.

The BBC documentary has evoked a strong reaction across Indian society.

Lord Rami Ranger, well known British MP in the House of Lords wrote a letter of condemnation to Tim Davie, BBC Director General, saying, among other things, that the timing of the BBC documentary is sinister considering that India and the UK are working for a free trade agreement, India has assumed the presidency of G20 and the UK has an Indian-origin prime minister.

In his letter, Lord Ranger says: The producer has shown a lack of vision, common sense and judgment by producing such an insensitive one-sided documentary.

In India too, dozens of bureaucrats, retired officers and judges have written an open letter dubbing the BBC documentary as delusions of British Imperial resurrection.

Many other individuals have launched petitions on the website change.org asking for an independent investigation into the BBC’s actions. Many smell a conspiracy as the diverse nation of nearly 1.4 billion people goes to elections in 2024, saying that the BBC is trying to queer the pitch against Modi.

A petition against the BBC has also been raised in the British parliament, seeking investigation into the anti-Hindu propaganda and hatred attacks on Hindu community

This will be the UK diaspora’s second protest against the BBC is barely three months. The earlier one was related to the BBC’s Hinduphobic” coverage of the Leicester violence.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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Protesters seek Xi’s resignation

Covid protests widen in China with calls for Xi Jinping to step down

State censors appeared to have scrubbed Chinese social media of any news about the rallies, with the search terms “Liangma River”, “Urumqi Road”…reports Asian Lite News

China’s censors were working Monday to extinguish signs of rare, social media-driven protests that flared across major cities over the weekend calling for political freedoms and an end to Covid lockdowns.

Sunday saw people take to the streets in several major cities across China to call for an end to lockdowns and greater political freedoms, in a wave of nationwide protests not seen since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.

A deadly fire last week in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang region, has become a catalyst for public anger, with many blaming Covid lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

But they have also featured prominent calls for greater political freedoms — with some even demanding the resignation of China’s President Xi Jinping, recently re-appointed to an unprecedented third term as the country’s leader.

Large crowds gathered Sunday in the capital Beijing and Shanghai, where police clashed with protesters as they tried to stop groups from converging at Wulumuqi street, named after the Mandarin for Urumqi.

Crowds that had gathered overnight — some of whom chanted “Xi Jinping, step down! CCP, step down!” — were dispersed by Sunday morning.

But in the afternoon, hundreds rallied in the same area with blank sheets of paper and flowers to hold what appeared to be a silent protest, an eyewitness said.

In the capital, at least 400 people gathered on the banks of a river for several hours, with some shouting: “We are all Xinjiang people! Go Chinese people!”

Reporters at the scene described the crowd singing the national anthem and listening to speeches, while on the other side of the canal bank, a line of police cars waited.

State censors appeared to have scrubbed Chinese social media of any news about the rallies, with the search terms “Liangma River”, “Urumqi Road” — sites of protests in Beijing and Shanghai — scrubbed of any references to the rallies on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

Videos including those showing university students singing in protest and rallies in other cities had also vanished from WeChat, replaced by notices saying the content was reported for “non-compliant or sensitive content.”

The Weibo search for the hashtag #A4 — a reference to the blank pieces of paper held up at rallies in a symbolic protest against censorship — also appeared to have been manipulated, showing only a handful of posts from the past day.

Boiling point

China’s strict control of information and continued travel curbs tied to the zero-Covid policy make verifying numbers of protestors across the vast country challenging.

But such widespread rallies are exceptionally rare, with authorities harshly clamping down on any and all opposition to the central government.

Protests also occurred on Sunday in Wuhan, the central city where Covid-19 first emerged, while there were reports of demonstrations in Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

Spreading through social media, they have been fuelled by frustration at the central government’s zero-Covid policy, which sees authorities impose snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and mass testing campaigns over just a handful of cases.

State-run newspaper the People’s Daily published a commentary Monday morning warning against “paralysis” and “battle-weariness” in the fight against Covid — but stopped far short of calling for an end to hardline policy.

“People have now reached a boiling point because there has been no clear direction to path to end the zero-Covid policy,” Alfred Wu Muluan, a Chinese politics expert at the National University of Singapore, said.

“The party has underestimated the people’s anger.”

Investors were spooked by the weekend protests, with Asian stocks opening sharply lower on Monday morning.

China reported 40,052 domestic Covid-19 cases Monday, a record high but tiny compared to caseloads in the West at the height of the pandemic.

Clashes in Shanghai

Hundreds of demonstrators and police have clashed in Shanghai as protests over Chinas stringent Covid restrictions continued for a third day and spread to several cities, in the biggest test for President Xi Jinping since he secured a historic third term in power.

The wave of civil disobedience is unprecedented in mainland China in the past decade, as frustration mounts over Xi’s signature zero-Covid policy nearly three years into the pandemic, the Guardian reported.

Protests triggered by a deadly apartment fire in the far west of the country last week took place on Sunday in cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan and Guangzhou.

On Monday, China reported a new daily record of new Covid-19 infections, with 40,347 cases.

ALSO READ-‘Economy ceased to be priority area of Xi Jinping’

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Truck drivers in go-slow protest

Rail workers have already staged a series of stoppages to press for better pay as Britain’s headline inflation reaches a 40-year high of just under 10 percent, driven in part by the war in Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

Protesters snarled up major UK roads on Monday with a slow-moving procession of vehicles to demand government action against rocketing fuel prices.

The action came as senior criminal lawyers staged a second walkout in England and Wales against years of government cuts to their fees, intensifying a “summer of discontent” as strikes sweep Britain.

Rail workers have already staged a series of stoppages to press for better pay as Britain’s headline inflation reaches a 40-year high of just under 10 percent, driven in part by the war in Ukraine.

On the roads, a social media campaign called Fuel Price Stand Against Tax mobilised drivers to drive deliberately slowly on motorways and other arterial routes, demanding the government slash fuel duty.

One of the motorways affected was the M4 including the Prince of Wales Bridge, which links England and Wales. Welsh police said they had arrested 12 people for driving under 30 miles (48 kilometres) per hour for “a prolonged amount of time”.

Vicky Stamper lost her job as a truck driver last month after the company was forced to cut costs in the face of the surging fuel costs.“I’m here because I’ve lost my job because of the fuel, and the greedy people at the top taking all of our money,” she said just over the border in England.

Addressing any members of the public inconvenienced by the action, Stamper said “we’re doing this for everyone”. “If they want to have a whinge, instead of whinging, join us.”

The government insists it has already cut fuel duty once, and is offering other financial support for the public, while blaming Russia for igniting the rapid rise in energy prices. “People’s day-to-day lives should not be disrupted,” a spokesperson said.

The government also says it is addressing the demands of the criminal barristers by offering a 15pc rise in fees from the end of September.

But the increase will only apply to new cases, not to tens of thousands piling up in a backlog as British courts wrestle with the fallout of the Covid pandemic.

Outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, barristers in black gowns and wigs insisted the government significantly raise its offer as they walked out for a second week and vowed more strikes ahead.

Protesting barrister Emma Heath, 34, said defence lawyers could spend eight hours in preparation for a client receiving legal aid and get paid only 126 ($153) by the government.

“We fully appreciate the impact it’s having, but until the government wake up and see what’s actually happening to criminal legal aid funding, we’re left with no choice,” she said.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab — a former lawyer — has called the strike action “regrettable” and said it would “only delay justice for victims”.

Tariq Akram said his was one of 50 vehicles making the 60-mile journey through Scunthorpe and Doncaster at 20mph.

The Scunthorpe truck driver told the BBC his company had added £4,000 to its fuel bill in the past four months because of rising prices.

“The turnout was absolutely fantastic. There were 35 vehicles from our yard alone who took part,” he said.

“At one point, I thought some cars wanted to overtake so I tried to let them by, then I realised they were joining in.”

Avon and Somerset Police said all protests in its area had finished and thanked the public for their patience in a tweet at 15:20 BST.

Earlier, Devon and Cornwall Police said it was aware of a go-slow protest heading northbound from Exeter services on the M5.

The force also said a further protest began on the A38 heading north from Ivybridge, where a man in his 50s was arrested after ignoring a warning about unsafe driving.

“Unfortunately we have had unsafe driving on the A38 including vehicles travelling at a dangerously low speed,” a force spokesman said.

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Massive protests in US as abortion right ends

Twin demonstrations were also getting under way in Los Angeles — one headed to city hall and the other to the federal courthouse — with dozens of smaller rallies planned from coast to coast…reports Asian Lite News

Abortion rights defenders fanned out across America Saturday for a second day of protest against the Supreme Court’s thunderbolt ruling, as state after conservative state moved swiftly to ban the procedure.

The deeply polarized country woke up to a new level of division: between states that will now or soon deny the right to abortion, enshrined since 1973, and those that still allow it.

After protests went late into the night, several hundreds of people thronged the streets outside the fenced-off Supreme Court again Saturday, in hot summer weather, carrying signs that read “War on women, who’s next?” and “No uterus, No opinion.”

“What happened yesterday is indescribable and disgusting,” said Mia Stagner, 19, a political science major in college. “Being forced to be a mother is not something any woman should have to do.”

Twin demonstrations were also getting under way in Los Angeles — one headed to city hall and the other to the federal courthouse — with dozens of smaller rallies planned from coast to coast.

At least eight right-leaning states imposed immediate bans on abortion — with a similar number to follow suit in coming weeks — after the Supreme Court eliminated 50-year-old constitutional protections for the procedure, drawing criticism from some of America’s closest allies around the world.

Fueling the mobilization, many now fear that the Supreme Court, with a clear conservative majority made possible by Donald Trump, might next set its sights on rights like same-sex marriage and contraception.

President Joe Biden — who has likewise voiced concerns the court might not stop at abortion — spoke out again Saturday against its “shocking decision.”

“I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans,” said the president, who has urged Congress to restore abortion protections as federal law, and vowed the issue would be on the ballot in November’s midterm elections.

Women in states that severely restrict abortion or outlaw it altogether will either have to continue with their pregnancy, undergo a clandestine abortion, obtain abortion pills, or travel to another state where it remains legal.

“We are going to see some nightmare scenarios, sadly,” Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean Pierre told reporters on Air Force One, as the president headed to Europe for Group of Seven and NATO summits.

“That is not hypothetical,” she said.

‘Women died getting abortions’

Friday’s demonstrations mostly passed off without incident — although police fired tear gas on protesters in Phoenix, Arizona and in the Iowa city of Cedar Rapids a pickup truck drove through a group of protesters, running over a woman’s foot.

In Washington on Saturday the scene was once again mostly peaceful — barring the odd shouting match between abortion rights advocates and opponents.

Carolyn Keller, 57, who traveled all the way from New Jersey, said she was enraged by the ruling, warning: “They came after women. They will come after the LGBT community and contraception.”

But counter-protesters like Savannah Craven stood firm.

“It’s not a personal choice to have an abortion, it involves two people and unfortunately that choice ends in the ending of someone’s life,” she told AFP.

As protesters like Craven made clear, while Friday’s ruling represents a victory in the religious right’s struggle against abortion, the movement’s ultimate goal is a nationwide ban.

That goal is now within sight in about two dozen states which are now expected to severely restrict or outright ban and criminalize abortions.

Missouri was first to ban the procedure on Friday, making no exception for rape or incest, joined as of Saturday morning by at least seven other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court tossed out the argument in Roe v. Wade that women had the right to abortion based on the constitutional right to privacy with regard to their own bodies.

Women in those states will either have to continue with their pregnancy, undergo a clandestine abortion, obtain abortion pills, or travel to another state where it remains legal.

Several Democratic-ruled states, anticipating an influx of patients, have already taken steps to facilitate abortion and three of them — California, Oregon and Washington — issued a joint pledge to defend access in the wake of the court’s decision.

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Arab News

PROTEST IN GAZA

Palestinian people protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem’s Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.

(Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

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PoJK inches towards social rebellion

PoJK inches towards social rebellion

It was a cold night with subzero temperature on March 2 when a police convoy arrived outside the office of Rawalakot Commissioner in Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK). More than two dozen political activists and members of Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation (JKNSF) had been observing a protest sit-in outside the gates of the Rawalakot Commission office building…writes Amjad Ayub Mirza

Hoping that the administration had come to begin negotiations the protesters took a sigh of relief. Little did they know that they were in for a shock. No sooner had the police arrived at the protest camp that they began lathi charge and started to arrest the protesters.

Liaquat Hayat, leader of Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP) a left wing political organisation of Stalinist tendency and Samad Shakeel leader of JKNAP’s student wing of JKNSF were the first to get handcuffed and thrown into the police vehicles. In total six protesters are said to have been apprehended at the spot.

Earlier on the same day, a long march from Muzaffarabad to Islamabad by adhoc employees was postponed after Prime minister Abdul Qayyum Niazi invited their leadership for negotiations. Similarly, a protest scheduled for March 3 by thousands of pensioners, most of whom are ex-army servicemen, and who were to gather in the capital city of Muzaffarabad was cancelled due to severe rain and bad weather conditions.

Hardly a day passes by without a protest in PoJK against pressing social and economic issues. The situation in Pakistani occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) is no different. Since Pakistan Prime minister Imran Khan announced that PoGB will be incorporated as Pakistan’s 5th provisional province on March 23 this year public unrest has become the norm.

It has been 4 days since the PoGB Awami Action Committee has conducted a sit-in in Kharmang blocking the vital Karakoram Highway since March 1. Protests against cuts in subsidies and lack of clean drinking water plus extreme load shedding has been the cause for spontaneous public unrest in all major cities and towns of PoGB.

On March 3 several protests were held simultaneously in Titrinote, Dadyal, Rawalakot and Kotli city against the March 2 arrests of protesters in Rawalakot and a press conference was held in Muzaffarabad to warn the state to be ready to face grave consequences if political prisoners were not released within 24 hours.

In the present day, public opinion in both occupied territories of PoJK and PoGB is decisively against Pakistan. Yet, lack of a comprehensive political programme and a visionary leadership has become a main obstacle in transforming the ongoing economic strife and the political discontent into a meaningful and collective social and political movement that could lead to social transformation and bring about fundamental political change in obtaining freedom from the clutches for Pakistani occupation.

The majority of the youth in PoJK and PoGB are of secular mind and do not support Pakistan’s interference in the Valley of Kashmir. They despise radical jihad and Pakistan’s proxy Jihadi organisations. However, lack of able political leadership is hampering their strive for emancipation.

There are three points that I would like to make and suggest a possible solution to the ongoing deadlock created due to the current dispersed form that the protests have manifested.

ALSO READ: Protest in London Over Rights Abuses at Gilgit Baltistan & POJK

Firstly, the adhoc employees, non-gazette employees, pensioners and civil society organisations, which are protesting against redundancies, delays in promotions, low pensions, load shedding and lack of clean drinking water, should form a united front and a collective charter of demands. This will bring all scattered social movements together and strengthen their crusade.

Secondly, a political programme, based on historical facts such as the instrument of accession to the Indian Republic, signed by Maharaja Hari Singh and Lord Mountbatten on October 26, 1947, and international obligations based on the United Nations Resolutions that Pakistan must withdraw its troops from PoJK and PoGB, should be formulated and linked to the social and economic struggles currently going on in PoJK and PoGB.

Finally, a consensus among all social, economic and political groups regarding direction of the way forward, should be established and followed through. This direction can only be quitting Pakistan and reunifying with Jammu and with Ladakh which in practical terms means joining the Union of the Indian Republic.

There is no doubt in my mind that the people of PoJK and PoGB are in a fighting mood. Nevertheless, this fighting mood could end up in frustration and defeat if it fails to rise to the event and produce visionary leadership.

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Africa News Arab News News

Protest demanding civilian rule resumed in Sudan

Protests demanding civilian rule and the release of political detainees have resumed in Sudan, which coincided with a visit of a UN human rights expert to the country…reports Asian Lite News

On Monday night, thousands of protesters gathered at the busiest bus station Sharwani in capital Khartoum before marching toward the Republican Palace, while thousands of others gathered at Bahri and Omdurman cities, raising photos of martyrs and detainees, Xinhua news agency quoted witnesses as saying.

Adama Dieng, UN expert on human rights in Sudan, is on a visit to the country until Thursday.

The trip was initially planned for last month, but was postponed to Sunday at the request of the Sudanese authorities.

On Sunday, the former ruling Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance called in a statement for a national campaign to release all political detainees estimated at over 200.

Earlier on Monday, the Sudanese authorities released 36 detainees from a prison south of the capital, the Sudanese Lawyers Committee said on its Facebook page, adding those released are political prisoners in connection with the recent protests.

ALSO READ: Sudan releases 36 detained protesters

The committee noted that the move “aims to mislead the visiting UN human rights expert”.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the General Commander of the Sudanese Army Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a coup on October 25, 2021 and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government.

Since then, Khartoum and other cities have been rocked by regular mass protests stage by opposition group, during which dozens of protesters have also been killed in clashes with security forces.