The Awami Workers Party (AWP) rejected the Indian press reports showing a video of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) AWP election rally for Baba Jan as a separatist uprising against Pakistan.
The video, originally shared by India-based Asian News International agency on August 13 has now been shared by multiple Indian outlets as evidence of an ongoing separatist uprising in which hundreds of arrests have been made. The AWP rejects these reports as completely baseless.
The video being shared was from an election rally held on May 25 in Altit, Hunza as part of Baba Jan’s campaign for the Hunza-VI by-election for the GB Legislative Assembly. No separatist slogans were raised at any point in the campaign which focused on calling for Baba Jan’s release, opposition to the corrupt ruling elite and a pro-people socialist alternative.
The AWP called on the Indian news outlets to retract the baseless stories regarding this rally and investigate the stories they are reporting on, rather than serving as a mouthpiece for government propaganda.
The AWP feels that the reports undermine the genuine concerns of the people of GB who have been engaged in a peaceful struggle for their rights.
