“Hold Pakistan responsible”: Activist Beigh raises PoGB concerns at UNHRC
Human rights defender Javed Beigh urges UNHRC to hold Pakistan accountable for atrocities and violence in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.
Human rights defender Javed Beigh has taken a strong stand on the international stage, urging the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to hold Pakistan accountable for ongoing atrocities in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB). Speaking on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva, Beigh highlighted a pattern of violence and systemic oppression directed at the civilian population.
Allegations of State-Led Violence
Beigh asserted that the Pakistani establishment and the Pakistani Rangers are directly responsible for the human rights violations occurring in the region. He emphasized that the global community must become aware of the situation in PoGB, which he described as an illegally occupied part of the greater Jammu and Kashmir territory snatched by Pakistan in 1947.
The activist highlighted specific instances of brutality, including the tragic case of a teenage boy named Rayan Ali. Beigh alleged that the youth was gunned down by the Pakistani Rangers, calling the incident a "barbaric and cowardly act" that demands international condemnation.
Targeting of Civil Leadership
A significant portion of Beigh's testimony focused on the crackdown against the Awami Action Committee, an organization he described as a "genuine leadership" comprising various social, religious, and political groups. He raised serious concerns regarding the legal persecution of its members:
- Detention without bail: Beigh noted that Advocate Ahsan Ali, a 70-year-old senior legal professional, and his associates were detained for three months without being granted bail.
- Anti-Terrorism Laws: He alleged that members of the committee have been placed under Schedule 4 of Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws. Beigh described this practice as a way to "put a person in hell while he is alive."
The Impact of CPEC and Regional Connectivity
Discussing the economic landscape of the region, Beigh offered a critical view of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Despite the massive scale of the project, he claimed that it has provided no tangible benefits to the local population of PoGB.
In contrast, he pointed toward infrastructure developments within the Indian-administered regions, such as the Zojila Tunnel and the Sonamarg Tunnel (formerly the Z-Morh Tunnel), noting their potential to connect remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
A Call for International Intervention
Beigh concluded with a passionate plea to the UNHRC and the international community to recognize the suffering of the people in PoGB. He reiterated his stance that PoGB and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) are integral parts of Jammu and Kashmir and expressed the deep-rooted solidarity felt by the people of J&K for their brothers and sisters in the occupied territories.
"I request the international community, especially the members of the UNHRC, to take cognisance of this barbarity... they should hold the Pakistani establishment, the Pakistani government, responsible for all these atrocities and oppression on the civilian population of PoGB."