Pakistanis thrown out for disturbing event on Kashmir's transformation at US Press Club

Six Pakistani nationals were forcibly removed from Washington DC’s National Press Club in the United States on Thursday, March 23, after they repeatedly disrupted a panel discussion on Kashmir. The panel discussion titled 'Kashmir: From Turmoil to Transformation' was held on Thursday in Washington DC It was moderated by columnist Se Hoon Kim and addressed by president of the Jammu and Kashmir Workers Party Mir Junaid, and Touseef Raina, president of the Municipal Council of Baramulla.

The forum was focused on the developments and the ground situation in Kashmir. Aiming to give a grassroots perspective, Mir Junaid said in his opening remarks, “I can confidently say that Kashmir has been reborn as a land of peace, prosperity and progress. Jammu and Kashmir have seen many transitions that have taken it from a state of protest to a progressive union territory.”

“We have to look beyond the controversial rhetoric now. The countries who are beating the drums on global platforms befooling the world have nothing to do with Kashmir’s peace, progress and prosperity. Accept the fact that Kashmir is an existential problem for them, and that’s why they want to keep the POT of violence burning in Kashmir,” Junaid asserted by taking a dig at Pakistan.

He asked about the fate of once a well-coordinated formidable separatist conglomerate, the so-called All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders and how the leaders are facing serial reverses, all in quick succession, in Jammu and Kashmir. Junaid said, “they are facing the law of the land, the rule of the land, “which resulted in the collapse of the Hurriyat Conference in Kashmir. 

Just then- a handful of protestors interrupted the Kashmiri activist and disrupted the forum. One protester yelled in response, “Shame on you.” After being asked by security personnel to leave the room, the protestors visibly lost their temper and were seen retorting with abuses. 

“The whole audience has seen your real face today. What we have seen in Kashmir we saw in Washington today and thank you for showing the world how cruel how indecent these people are,” said Junaid as he hit back in response to the disruption.

All of this was caught on camera and the video grabbed headlines. “You have seen it all and this is what they did initially, what they are doing, they tried to silence me with the barrel of AK 47. If you gave them AK 47, they would shoot us dead here right away. That’s because they don’t want to face the truth, ”Junaid added.

#BREAKING | Pakistan nationals heckle discussion on Kashmir; thrown out of the event after interruption.#Pakistan #Kashmir #KashmirIssue #PakistanNationals #USEventhttps://t.co/ge3J2OW61a pic.twitter.com/rM4wPt0L8w

— Republic (@republic) March 24, 2023

Referring to the disruption caused by the protestors, Raina said all these years this is what the separatists sponsored by Pakistan have been doing in Jammu and Kashmir. "What these gentlemen did, the same thing they did in Kashmir. Whosoever was speaking, right, or for the people, was silenced by the gun, he said.

"I wish I get a chance to visit Pakistan. I want to meet the policymakers to stop funding terrorism," Raina said.

(with PTI inputs)