In a shocking development, thousands of people have held protests in Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) contradicting the Pakistan government’s decision to build illegal dams on Neelam and Jhelum rivers.
Violence broke out on Monday as protests erupted in POK in response to the illegal construction of Dams. A huge crowd thronged the streets of Muzaffarabad to protest against the hydropower plant being built illegally on the Neelum and Jhelum rivers.
Condemning the illegal construction, angry protesters shouted anti-China slogans and also questioned under what treaties China and Pakistan were constructing dams on these rivers.
They alleged that Pakistan and China are violating UN Security Council resolutions by occupying rivers.
“We should march towards Kohala project and continue protest there until it does not stop,” said one of the protesters.
Recently, the Pakistan government made an agreement with China for the construction of a 1,124-megawatt hydropower project in Kohala at the cost of $2.4 billion.
However, this decision of the government did not go down well with the residents of Muzaffarabad and strongly condemned the decision.
A Social media campaign on Twitter trend with Hashtag #SaveRiversSaveAJK was also launched to highlight the issue on the global platform.
The protesters said that rivers are being illegally occupied for the CPEC which is a violation of the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution. They said that they will continue to protest until Chinese company brings its project back.
The project, under the umbrella of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has been awarded to Kohala Hydropower Company Ltd (KHCL). The company is a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC).
