Kashmiri diaspora members staged a protest march in Bologna, Italy, condemning alleged killings of civilians by Pakistani security forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Members of the Kashmiri diaspora staged a protest march in Italy’s Bologna, condemning what they described as killings of civilians by Pakistani security forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The protesters raised slogans against Pakistani forces and expressed solidarity with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil society group involved in protests in the region.
In a post on X on Monday, the JAAC said Kashmiri protesters in Italy had appealed to the international community to speak out against what it described as the “genocide” of unarmed civilians by Pakistani forces.
“Peaceful demonstrators are only demanding their basic rights,” the group said.
The demonstration comes amid continuing unrest in PoK and growing protests by Kashmiri diaspora groups in different countries. Protesters have called for international attention to what they describe as a crackdown by Pakistani authorities against demonstrators in the region.
The Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Observatory (JKHRO), a PoK-based human rights documentation and monitoring organisation, has recorded 93 civilian deaths during the unrest between June 5 and August 5.
The figures could not be independently verified.
Last week, members of the Kashmiri diaspora also demonstrated outside the Pakistani Consulate in Bradford in the United Kingdom. The protesters, including women, children and elderly people, expressed support for the JAAC and called for an end to security operations in PoK.
Demonstrators in Bradford carried placards reading “Pakistan Stop Brutalities”, “Pakistan Stop Killing Kashmiris in Rawalakot” and “We Stand with Awami Action Committee”, while raising slogans against Pakistani security forces.
The protests have also drawn attention from British lawmakers as unrest in PoK has intensified.
British Labour Party MP Liam Byrne described reports of live fire being used against peaceful protesters as “deeply alarming”.
Another British MP, Adnan Hussain, described the reported deaths of civilians in PoK as a “tragedy” and called for any alleged use of excessive or unlawful force by Pakistani authorities to be investigated independently and transparently.
The demonstrations in Italy and the UK reflect growing efforts by Kashmiri diaspora groups to draw international attention to the situation in PoK.
The protests have centred on allegations of excessive force, civilian casualties and demands for greater attention to the grievances raised by demonstrators and civil society groups in the region.
