JKLF protest bound for Chakothi village near LoC stopped by containers – Pakistan

The participants of the & # 39; march of the freedom of the peoples & # 39; Under the auspices of the independence independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) they arrived near Jiskool on Sunday, a place where the administration and the police have blocked the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar highway by placing containers, barbed wires, electricity poles and mounds of land, witnesses said.

"Hum le ke rahengay azadi (We will obtain freedom by all means), "they were heard constantly singing, while waving flags of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and their party (JKLF).

At present, the protest has entered a stalemate, with the administration insisting that the march be suspended and protesters demanding the elimination of the road block.

Muhammad Rafiq Dar, JKLF central spokesman, said Dawn that the protesters, who are currently organizing a sit-in, will wait until tomorrow to remove the containers.

"If they don't, we will continue to organize a sit-in here and announce our next plan after that," he said.

Dar said the march was a peaceful program aimed at expressing solidarity with the besieged cashmere and calling the attention of the international community to the urgent need for an immediate and peaceful agreement in the long run. [Kashmir] trouble. He said his group did not want to get involved in any kind of confrontation with local law enforcement personnel.

"We are not for any kind of confrontation or violence because that will serve the Indian purpose," he said. Dawn.

Early in the day, Dar had urged the AJK administration to remove the containers so that protesters could reach Chakothi, a town that is 3 kilometers before the Control Line (LoC), but is ignored by the positions of Indian weapons in the high mountains throughout the division. .

"I hope they allow us to continue our peaceful march to the city of Chakothi," he said.

Protesters began their journey from Garhi Dupatta, located about 20 kilometers south of Muzaffarabad, at 10:30 a.m., but in vehicles and motorcycles.

The caravan arrived at Hattian Bala, 40 km from Muzaffarbad, around 12:15 p.m., where they were warmly welcomed by local residents.

"It was really an enthusiastic welcome," said Saleem Haroon, one of JKLF's leaders.

Shortly before Hattian Bala, the caravan joined another concentration that had begun from Bagh through the famous mountain resorts of Sudhan Galli and Chikar.

From Hattian Bala, protesters once again began walking on foot and arrived in Chinari at 3:15 pm.

Chinari is located about 50 kilometers from Muzaffarabad and about 11 kilometers before the LoC. There, the participants took a break to have a snack and Zuhr prayers.

Jiskool, near where the caravan has currently stopped, is about two kilometers ahead of Chinari.

The video clips shared by the participants in the social networks showed an exemplary response from the locals, who offered food, fresh fruits, juices and water to the protesters, in addition to putting rose petals on them.

While in Chinari, JKLF's central spokesman had told him Dawn They would hold consultations for their next course of action.

“We know that the road ahead is blocked. And the place where the containers were placed is narrow with steep mountains and rivers [Jhelum] to the right and to the left, respectively […] We don't want a single participant to suffer any damage there, "he said.

"We have to save our energies to [confrontation with] India."

Dar had anticipated that at dusk the crowd would decrease, and the rest of the participants would organize a sitting half a kilometer before the containers until the next move.

Across the containers in Jiskool, the division commissioner Chaudhry Imtiaz, the deputy general inspector of police Sardar Ilyas Khan, the deputy commissioner of the Jhelum Valley Imran Shaheen and the police superintendent Arshad Naqvi were also present.

The leaders of the march had been invited by the administration to talk.

“We already humbly inform the organizers that there is a serious threat of Indian bombing. The Indians would not only attack the protesters but also the entire civilian population in this area, something they have never doubted in the past, "Imtiaz said. Dawn by phone.

When asked if protesters could be allowed to go to Chakothi to sit there, he said: "It is our main responsibility to protect [the lives of] Protesters. The last point where we could allow them to arrive is this [Jiskool]. Beyond this point is the firing range, therefore, it is not about allowing them, ”he said.