Islamabad, Oct 29 (IANS) Authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have curtailed civilians’ access to the traditional avenue of working abroad by imposing restrictions on obtaining passports, travel permits, and No Objection Certificates (NOC).

Citing “security reasons”, these restrictions are frequently used to suppress dissent and hinder travel by individuals with political or family links to activities considered sensitive by the authorities.

According to an Amnesty International report, lack of job opportunities at home, coupled with spiralling cost of living and rising poverty, has triggered a surge in mental health problems and drug abuse among a more educated and socially aware population in the region.

Recently, it said, protests erupted on the streets of Muzaffarabad where at least nine people were killed and dozens injured as young people once again took to the streets to voice long-festering frustrations.

The Pakistani authorities responded with a heavy hand, using violent force to disperse peaceful protests and shutting down communications to crush dissent.

Meanwhile, the report said, a longstanding concern is exploitation of the region’s natural resources by the Pakistani government, including timber from its extensive forests, minerals and major hydropower projects that benefit mainland Pakistan’s population rather than local residents.

This has resulted in the loss of productive farmland without any benefits to the local population, causing a sharp decline in income from farming activities, particularly the sale of apples, once a mainstay of the rural economy.

“One stark example is the Mangla Dam, a massive hydropower project built in 1967 on prime farmland and submerging 280 villages, including the towns of Mirpur and Dadyal. Over 110,000 residents were displaced. Pakistan promised the local population compensation in the form of royalties, free electricity, and even free water supply to Mirpur, but these promises were never fully honoured. With an installed capacity over 1,000 MW, Mangla produces abundant power, but almost all is fed into Pakistan’s national grid. Local people were told they would receive 300 MW free of charge to meet their needs, but have received nothing,” the report stressed.

Instead, ironically, it said, residents of the region are required to purchase electricity at higher tariffs than those paid in Pakistan’s provinces. Islamabad effectively treats power from the region as an “import” – charging locals 20-40 times more than the token rate it pays.

Unlike Pakistan’s provinces, PoK receives no hydropower royalty under Pakistan’s constitution, leaving the region without compensation for the dams located on its soil.

–IANS

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