Journalists from PoK say enough is enough

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clear shift to exploit Pakistan's vulnerabilities by raking up the issue of Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has received a shot in the arm.

Tucked 91 km away from Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is the picturesque Neelam Valley. It lies along Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Civil society groups, traders and journalists here have long resented the frequent anti-India protests and marches towards the LoC by outsiders to protest the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

Of late, this area, which is a seven-hour drive from Islamabad, has become a prime attraction for tourists from Pakistan and outside. The region experienced exchange of fires and mortars for over 14 years, which stopped in 2003, when India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire.

That's when Neelam Valley tasted the fruits of peace. "People had fled and the area was deserted," said an inhabitant. After 2003, local population got engaged in tourism business and many beautiful and comfortable luxurious motels came up, boosting the local economy. In fact, a few years back, Pakistani agencies had to shift a militant camp from this region after protests from locals.

The scene changed and frequent anti-India protests shattered peace in the region and its economy. The Press Club of Neelam Valley, in a statement signed by its officer-bearers Ershad Sheikh, Khawaja Sidique, Tariq Maqbool and Hayat Awan, says that these protests are vitiating the peaceful atmosphere in the region and creating fear among tourists.

"We have experienced lots of hardships and unimaginable degree of instability, prior to 2003. We don't want the era to haunt us again," the statement said. The region is also home to Sharda ruins, the ancient site of Kashmir civilisation, depicting both Buddhist as well as Hindu remnants. Like Nalanda and Taxila, the region was home to the world famous Sharda site of learning.

The current resentment in the region originated after a group of journalists from Muzaffarabad travelled to Neelam Valley to protest the killings as well as muzzling of the Press in the Kashmir valley. But local journalists and business community asked them to protest at the UN office in Muzaffarabad or elsewhere.

The other part of PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan, on Monday observed a shutdown at the call of the Awami Action Committee, an 11-party alliance demanding their share from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which would pass through the region. They believe the region has been excluded from the benefits of the corridor.

Sources here said that Modi's overt moral support to the Balochistan freedom struggle, marking a shift in India's diplomatic posturing, has been laid out after considerable deliberations within the security and diplomatic establishment. The strategic bonding between Beijing and Islamabad, expanding into the economic realm through the extensive connectivity corridor to be built across PoK and Balochistan, has been a source of concern for India.

Priyanka Singh, fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), who has done extensive research on the region, believes that the recent spurt in violence in J&K has amplified the gravity of the situation.

"Claiming PoK can potentially be an antidote to Pakistan's unfounded but aggressive claim on Kashmir. Additionally, rebooting the claim on PoK can reinforce India's position against the China-Pakistan strategic and economic partnership (involving PoK) in the near and long term," she said.

In the coming days, the government is planning to bring a white paper on PoK, recalibrating the political and strategic measures and also to bring a strategy on the Indian media's coverage of PoK, which has always been scant and without much depth and understanding.

It has been found that even the number of nationalist or advocacy groups in the PoK region (especially in Gilgit- Baltistan) don't find any space in Indian media, except for the occasional clips released by the news agency ANI.