Muzaffarabad(PID AJK)11 March2024 President Azad Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has said that the main purpose of the establishment of the Azad Kashmir government was to highlight the Kashmir issue.He expressed these views while speaking at a briefing session, which was held here today under the aegis of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Cell (JKLC).The JKLC, he said, has played an important role in research and educating the youth about different aspects of the Kashmir issue. Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry hailed the establishment of Kashmir Policy Research Institute, the first ever AJK based think tank. He said that world wants to hear the voice of the Kashmiri people. He congratulated the management of the Kashmir Policy Research Institute for the publication of research journal, arranging workshops and internship programs and producing research materials on Kashmir.The president said that he would kickstart a public awareness campaign from 16th March from Mirpur to expose the Indian government’s nefarious designs in the region.Referring to his efforts to highlight the Indian barbarism and brutality at international level, Barrister Chaudhry said, “I exposed India’s fascist agenda and gross violations of human rights in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, not only in Azad Kashmir but also in Europe, America and other parts of the world”.Commenting on the worsening political and human rights situation in the Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir he said that human rights situation in the IoK has further worsened since the Modi government stripped the region of its special status in 2019.
” Fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people including the right to freedom of speech and expression, right to peaceful protest and assembly remain largely curtailed”, he said, adding that besides imposing undue restrictions on print and electronic media, the Indian government has put ban on social media.”Under the given circumstances, the role and responsibilities of the government of Azad Kashmir have increased manifold”, the president said.He said that it was quite heartening to see that the government and the KLC have played an effective role in turning spotlight on Kashmir and sensitizing the world in a much better way.Barrister Chaudhry said that he had always tried not only to convey the voice of Kashmiris to the world but also to keep the people of Azad Kashmir connected with this issue. He also hailed the Kashmiri expatriate community’s role and their significant contribution in keeping the Kashmir issue alive at the international level. He said that Modi’s visit to Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was an attempt to create a false impression of normalcy and peace in the held territory. He said that ahead of Modi’s visit the occupied Kashmir was turned into a hell for its citizens. “Government employees were forced to attend the rally whereas undue restrictions were imposed on citizens’ movement in Srinagar”, he said.Earlier, Director Kashmir Policy Research Institute Dr. Raja Muhammad Sajjad Khan gave a detailed briefing to the president. Advisor to the AJK president Sardar Imtiaz Khan, Secretary Presidential Affairs Dr. Idris Abbasi, Secretary Liberation Cell Mirza Wajahat Rashid Baig and others were also present on this occasion.
