Expert slams global silence on Pakistan's crackdown in PoK, calls out OIC "hypocrisy"

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 5 (ANI): European writer and expert on West Asia affairs, Michael Arizanti, has sharply criticised the international community for turning a blind eye to killings in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), accusing global powers and Islamic nations of “shameful hypocrisy” in ignoring state violence against Kashmiri Muslims.

In a blog published in the Times of Israel, Arizanti compared the muted response to civilian deaths in PoK with global outrage over Gaza, questioning why “the death of a Palestinian in Gaza is a global headline, but the death of a Kashmiri Muslim in Muzaffarabad is a footnote.”

At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 injured as Pakistani forces opened fire on protesters demanding affordable electricity and flour in Muzaffarabad, Dheerkot, Rawalakot and Mirpur, Arizanti noted.

Despite curfews and a communications blackout affecting 4.5 million people, the violence has barely been reported internationally.

The agitation, spearheaded by Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), is centred on a 38-point charter of demands. These include political reforms, subsidised wheat flour, lower electricity tariffs, free education and health facilities, and the abolition of perks for government officials.

Muzaffarabad emerged as the epicentre of the movement. Shops, markets and transport services were shut down.

“The massacre of Muslim civilians in PoK has barely stirred a whisper. The selective outrage is deafening,” Arizanti wrote, accusing both Western and Islamic nations of double standards.

Arizanti singled out the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab states, which regularly condemn India over Kashmir, but have not issued a statement on PoK.

“The OIC, so quick to issue statements against India whenever an incident occurs in Jammu and Kashmir, has not uttered a single word about the massacre in PoK. Not one,” he wrote. “Where are the imams, the scholars, the ministers who thunder about Gaza every Friday? The hypocrisy is as transparent as it is shameful.”

Arizanti also questioned Western silence, despite repeated statements on Ukraine, Gaza and Myanmar.

“The same capitals that lit up their monuments in blue and yellow to stand with Ukraine… remain mute when Pakistan crushes dissent in a territory it falsely labels ‘Azad’,” Arizanti argued. “Is Kashmiri blood worth less? Is Pakistani repression somehow more palatable?”

Calling for global accountability, he urged the United Nations to investigate the killings and the European Union to act immediately as he called the PoJK killings a crime against "humanity",

“The killings in PoK are not an internal Pakistani matter—they are a crime against humanity, one that demands the attention of the world,” Arizanti further added. 

Emphasising that PoK residents are not separatists but citizens demanding dignity, he noted that the protests were over basic rights, such as electricity and food.

"The people of PoK are demanding electricity they can afford, wheat they can eat, representation they can trust. They are not asking for secession, but for dignity. Yet the Pakistani state answers them with violence, he wrote. 

“Kashmiris in PoK deserve the same rights and protections that the world demands for Ukrainians, Palestinians, or any other oppressed people. Their blood is not cheaper. Their cries are not quieter. They are simply unheard,” Arizanti added. (ANI)