Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front holds protest against census in PoK

Muzaffarabad [PoK], March 18 (ANI): Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) held a protest against the ongoing digital census in Pakistan and said that the census should not include the citizens of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and termed it "unconstitutional," Pakistan vernacular media Kashmir Dharti reported.
JKLF leaders said that carrying out a digital census in PoK is the worst violation of the Pakistan constitution itself. JKLF leaders said that according to Article 1 and Article 257, citizens of PoK are not part of Pakistan, as per the news report.
It said that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics conducting a census in PoK is the worst violation of the Pakistan Constitution itself. The JKLF announced that it will hold a protest against cruel taxes, facilities to ruling sections, flour subsidy issues, and other problems, as per the Pakistan vernacular media Kashmir Dharti report.
The process of the 7th Population and Housing Census is being conducted digitally in Pakistan. The process includes an option for self-enumeration, which is available from February 20 till March 10 and field operations of house listing and enumeration began from March 1 and will continue till April 4, 2023, Pakistan Today reported.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has set up 495 Census Support Centers (CSC) at the Census District level and 495 Census Support Centers (CSC) at the tehsil level. More than 1,095 IT experts of NADRA and PBS teams are working at these centres 24/7 for technical assistance and facilitation of field staff, as per the Pakistan Today report.
Earlier this month, Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, central spokesperson of the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP), in a press statement said that Pakistan should include and register the separate identity of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and the local language boxes in the ongoing census in PoK.
Khan further said that the United Nations had already been informed about this conspiracy. He said that the issue will be raised once again during the ongoing 52nd Session of the United Nations Council for Human Rights in Geneva.
"We warn Pakistan that turning the local populations of PoK and Gilgit Baltistan into a minority will have disastrous effects not only on the peace and security of Jammu Kashmir but the entire region," Khan said. He further said, "All conscious Kashmiris should strongly resist and protest against such expansionist ambitions and the conspiracy to erase our identity." (ANI)