Muzaffarabad (PID) 20 November 2024
Most Senior Minister Interior Minister Colonel (retired) Waqar Ahmed Noor has said that protest is a democratic right, there is no restriction on protest according to law and rule. Don't let the Indian media tell us how to protect our citizens. Protesters are also our own citizens. The region of Azad Kashmir was and will remain peaceful. It is our responsibility to protect the life of the common citizen and protect his rights. The aim of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance is not to target anyone. Our doors are always open for negotiations. Azad Kashmir and Occupied Kashmir cannot be compared. Legislation in Azad Kashmir is public welfare while in Occupied Kashmir Unconstitutional is done to perpetuate illegal and immoral occupation. He expressed these views while addressing a press conference in PID Complex Muzaffarabad along with Government Ministers Sardar Mir Akbar Khan and Sardar Amir Altaf. Information Secretary Sardar Adnan Khurshid and Director of Public Relations Raja Shahid Hussain were also present. Interior Minister Colonel Retired Waqar Ahmed Noor said that the action committee movement started with the popular narrative of flour and electricity and these demands were fulfilled but their demands kept increasing. He said that in the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, there is no ban on protest, but there is a mention of fixing the time and place for the protest so that the flow of public property and traffic including school going students and patients is not affected and no protest is allowed. So as not to cause trouble to other citizens. He said that chaos cannot be allowed in our peaceful region. There have been protests even after this ordinance and whoever sought permission from the District Magistrate got it. To a question, he said that even paying prayers is not allowed in Occupied Kashmir. The conditions of Occupied Kashmir cannot be compared to Azad Kashmir in any way, people in Azad Kashmir have all the basic rights while in Occupied Kashmir there is no such thing as civil rights. He said that he is ready to discuss any points of this ordinance if there are reservations. He said that there was poisonous propaganda by the Indian media on the protest in Rawalakot yesterday, no country should dictate to us how we should protect our citizens. To a question, he said that the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance has been implemented after the approval of the Cabinet, which includes members of all parties.