Protests held in Rawalpindi for discrimination against Kashmiris

Traders and transporters from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) staged protests in Rawalpindi against the discrimination and threats that they have been facing at the hands of the Pakistani establishment.

The traders, who travel to various parts of Pakistan in search of job opportunities, have alleged that they feel terrified of being targeted by the Pakistanis.

The protests have been organised especially after a vehicle carrying number plate of PoK was attacked and its driver was beaten by the local youths in Rawalpindi.

The transporters further said that the locals do not pay the fare to them and misbehave when asked for it.

Nasim Ahmed, a transporter from Muzaffarabad, who also participated in the protests in Rawalpindi, said, "The establishment is hurting us, destroying our vehicles and creating obstacles for us from doing businesses here is only because we are Kashmiris."

"Either they burn our vehicles or destroy it. We are being harassed because we are Kashmiris. They are only targeting the vehicles owned by Kashmiris," a bus driver said.

A large number of people from PoK and Gilgit Baltistan travel to various cities across Pakistan in search of jobs and business since they have no access to such opportunities back at home.

Earlier, the police and other security agencies were targeting the Kashmiris in Pakistan, but according to the latest trend, the localities have also started discriminating them.

Protests were also held in other parts of Pakistan, where the Kashmiri political activists blamed Islamabad for targeting Kashmiri people and activists.

Azhar Rashid, an activist of Jammu Kashmir National Students' Federation in Lahore, said while addressing a protest rally, "They carried out killings in 1980 and also in 2019. We will take revenge of Mashal Khan, a Pashtun student killed by an angry mob in 2017. We will also take the revenge of Baba Jan, a political activist from Gilgit Baltistan who is languishing in jail."

"This (Imran Khan-led) government is the killer, who has snatched our rights from us," he added.