Gilgit-Baltistan political workers accused of treason for raising voice against land grab by Pak military: Senge

Geneva [Switzerland], Sept. 20 (ANI): Gilgit-Baltistan National Congress President Senge Hasnan Sering has said that many political workers in Gilgit-Baltistan have been fined and imprisoned on charges of treason and sedition for raising voice against forced land grabbing by the Pakistani military in the region. At his remarks at an event on 'Violence in South Asia,' Sering said, "I would like to dedicate every minute of my time to all those political workers who are in jail in Gilgit- Baltistan right now in Pakistani occupation . Many of them have received life imprisonment of upto 40 years plus fined half a million rupees as a punishment for talking about land grab that Pakistani military is doing in Gilgit-Balistan." He said that thousands of acres of land have been forcibly confiscated in Gilgit- Baltistan by driving women and children out of their homes. "In the middle of the night, bulldozers have destroyed and razed their houses and it has been going on in all parts of Gilgit-Baltistan," he added. He said that his speech is dedicated to all those people who have risked their and their family's lives to raise voice against these ongoing atrocities. Sering also alleged that one of the Pakistani ministers warned them with serious consequences if voices are raised against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, which many in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan have protested against for the grave human rights violations. "Minister Iqbal came out and he said that anybody who opposes the CPEC, land grab will be dealt as terrorist," he said.(ANI)