Youth in PoK forced to join terror groups, activists tell UN forum

Sep 27, 2023

Geneva, (Switzerland) September 27 (ANI): Political activists from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) raised the issue of terrorism in the region and informed the United Nations that youth in PoK are forced to join banned extremist groups who take up arms training to carry out terror attacks. In his intervention during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Nasir Aziz Khan, central spokesperson of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) blasted Pakistan on September 26, on Pakistan’s claims of controlling extremist groups but still, the ongoing atrocities persist. “Despite Pakistan's claims of controlling extremist groups, ongoing atrocities persist, such as the recent abduction of more than 20 teenagers in Bagh, Azad Kashmir. These boys have been forcibly taken by internationally banned extremist groups for armed training and so-called Jihad. This incident reveals the deep-rooted problem of extremist influence in the region..." Nasir also said that incidents like the torching of churches, ransacking of Christian homes, and vandalism of a graveyard in Jaranwala, Faisalabad, on August 16, 2023, allegedly due to blasphemy, are deeply concerning.