Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation held a protest in Rawlakot on 15th April to support the strike of 450,000 government employees in Indian Jammu and Kashmir, who are protesting for the payment of their salaries. The participants of the rally supported the Joint Action Forum which is leading the protests and raised slogans against the state authorities which are attacking the workers.
Speakers at the rally condemned the use of force against these employees who have now been protesting for more than two weeks. They said that the Indian government is not respecting the workers' rights and they are using all kinds of tyrannical tactics to stop the workers from raising their demands. When, after assurances from the government, the employees didn’t receive their salaries, they resorted to strikes and protests, but government thrashed them with arrests, baton charges and tear gas, injuring hundreds of workers.
Speakers also said that the Pakistani government is also acting like an imperialist state for the Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir, and the employees here are also not getting their rights. They said that both the Pakistani and Indian governments are using state force to curb the rights of workers.
The speakers also explained that the war in Kashmir is in reality not about a nationalist or religious basis, but a class basis which can be only won by throwing away rulers of this capitalist system on both sides. They explained that Capitalism is a rotten system in the whole world and that only the unity of working class on both sides of Kashmir and their struggle for a socialist revolution can solve the problems facing the masses.
Speakers who addressed the rally included the president of JKNSF, Amjad Shahswar, District President Basharat Ali, District Senior Vice President, Bilal Amin, Ghaffar Latif, leader of the college unit Akhlaq Rahim, Zulfiqar Shabbir, Naveed Ishaq, and others, while Comrade Haris was the Stage Secretary.
JKNSF has demanded that
- All employees who are arrested in Indian held Jammu and Kashmir be released immediately. All employees injured by the state forces should be treated at government expense
- All officials responsible for this attack should be sacked immediately
- All the Demands of Employees Joint Action Committee should be accepted.