New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) 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.

Many in PoK have been complaining that the security forces are even targeting unarmed people and those who are not even part of the protest. Officials say what is worse is that the forces are not just killing these persons, but are not even allowing their family members to take the bodies. It is the forces that take away the bodies and dispose of them, not even giving the family members a chance to perform their last rites, officials say.

Officials say that on one hand, Pakistan has been projecting to the world that it is a messiah of peace, while on the other hand, it is committing unthinkable atrocities against the people of PoK.

The PoK protesters have been making fervent appeals to Amnesty International, the United Nations and also those in the international media to save them.

An official said that the issue is not being reported internationally. This issue needs global attention and world needs to know the kind of crimes that are being committed in the region, the official also added.

The protesters have, however, been relentless and say that the agitation will be called off only when all their demands are met. They want the 1,500 persons whom the Pakistani forces arrested released immediately, while also seeking the restoration of basic human rights in the region. They also want employment opportunities, better healthcare, education facilities and reforms in the judiciary and bureaucracy.

Saad Ansari, an advocate, said they are demanding that the AJK Bank, which operates in PoK, should be made a scheduled bank. Ansari also urged human rights organisations to take up their issue and said that the international media should report on their plight.

–IANS

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