 "World should know about atrocities happening in PoK, Balochistan: Rahul Jalali")
Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the atrocities being carried out on the people of Balochistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by Pakistan at the all-party meeting on the Kashmir issue, Press Club of India (PCI) president Rahul Jalali on Saturday said it is high time the world knows about what is happening in the region.
"Well I think it is high time that this statement is made. If you recall what is going on in PoK after the sham elections which were held, half of that region is out on the streets is being beaten up by the police every day and they expect India, which claims that the region is also part of our territory, which it is after the 1994 resolution," Jalali told ANI.
"I think we have to talk about what is happening to people there and it is a very good thing that the Prime Minister has done and not only about PoK, but also the northern areas. It is a welcome move that the Prime Minister has raised this issue," he added.
"The time has come to expose Pakistan's brutalities on the people of Balochistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," said Prime Minister Modi said on Friday as the government launched a fresh offensive against Islamabad for igniting the latest unrest in Kashmir.
"When we talk about Jammu and Kashmir, then we should talk about four regions - Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said.
Addressing the media after the all-party meeting, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "I have assured all the political parties that every suggestion, which they have put forward to bring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir would be taken into consideration."
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Singh quoted the Prime Minister as saying that the time has come for Pakistan to answer the world on atrocities against the people in Balochistan and the PoK.
During the four-hour-long meeting, which comes in the wake of continued unrest in Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8, some of the opposition parties also asked the government to take a few immediate confidence-building measures like putting an end to the use of pellet guns and relaxing AFSPA in some parts of the valley.
Kashmir has been on the boil for more than a month with thousands injured and more than 50 killed during protests against Wani's killing.