 "Youth political activist Asif Saeed Sakhi arrested without charges amid intensifying crackdown in PoK")
Amid ongoing political crackdown in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the local police have arrested Asif Saeed Sakhi, Vice President of the Awami Workers Party (AWP), a prominent left-leaning political group in the region.
The information was shared on X by Javed Beigh, India’s representative at the United Nations and a vocal advocate for the integration of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) with India’s Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, respectively.
In a long post on X along with sharing Sakhi’s pictures, Beigh wrote, “This is a photo of ASIF SAEED SAKHI, a youth political activist from minority Muslim sectarian community of ISMAILI MUSLIMS behind bars in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir’s (PoK’s) Gilgit and Baltistan region, which is also known as Pakistan Occupied Gilgit and Baltistan (PoGB).”
PAKISTAN CRACK DOWN IN PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) CONTINUES, even as the world ignores the plight of the people of PoK....
— Javed Beigh (@JavedBeigh) May 26, 2025
This is a photo of ASIF SAEED SAKHI, a youth political activist from minority Muslim sectarian community of ISMAILI MUSLIMS behind bars in Pakistan… pic.twitter.com/dDTkCd3iHA
According to Beigh, Sakhi was arrested by police in Gulmit without any formal charges or the registration of a First Information Report (FIR), raising serious concerns about arbitrary detentions and the suppression of political dissent.
“Asif Saeed Sakhi is Vice President of PoGB’s Awami Workers Party (AWP), a communist political party, a prominent political part of PoGB. He has been detained without charges by the local police of the puppet regime of Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) local Chief Minister Gulbahar Khan, which is seen as the puppet of the Punjabi Muslim ruling elite based in Islamabad & Rawalpindi,” he added.
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More ShortsAccording to Beigh, Sakhi belongs to the Wakhi speaking Ismaili Muslim community which is a minority Muslim community in Pakistan but constitutes a major religious community in PoGB.
The Wakhi community of PoGB are Tajik Farsi speaking communities who are culturally close to Wakhi speaking Ismaili communities of Gorno Badakshan in Tajikistan, Xinjiang province in China & Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, he added.
“Before 1947, this used to be the northernmost border of British India and was part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir but after 1947, Pakistan illegally occupied this part of PoK depriving India its natural borders with Tajikistan, Afghanistan and wider Central Asia,” Beigh wrote.
The arrest comes in the wake of mounting unrest over the controversial “Land Reforms Act,” recently passed by the local assembly, widely seen as a rubber-stamp body operating under the control of Pakistan’s central government.
Critics argue the act enables land acquisition at the cost of indigenous communities and has triggered protests across the region.
Several political leaders, including Ehsan Ali Advocate of the Awami Action Committee, have also been arrested in recent weeks as part of what many describe as a coordinated crackdown by the Pakistan People’s Party-led regional administration, headed by Chief Minister Gulbahar Khan. Detractors have labelled the government a “puppet regime” acting under the directives of the Punjabi-dominated ruling elite in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“The arrest of Asif Saeed Sakhi has sparked a wave of condemnation and concern. The local Hunza court’s decision to grant a two-day physical remand has further fueled outrage, with many in PoGB calling the move illegal and a clear act of retaliation by the local puppet regime of PoGB under the orders of the state of Pakistan. The people of PoGB say that the Hunza administration and police of PoGB appear to be pursuing a campaign of targeted harassment and retaliation against him,” wrote Beigh.
Sakhi’s arrest has sparked widespread calls for his immediate release and an impartial investigation. His supporters allege that the PoGB administration and police are engaged in a campaign of targeted harassment against dissident voices.
Adding to the complexity is the assertion that Sakhi is an Indian citizen, originally from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), territory that India considers illegally occupied since 1947.
“ASIF SAEED SAKHI is an INDIAN CITIZEN from PoK. The million dollar question is, why is India not condemning Pakistani State oppression on the people of PoK, whom we Indians consider as part of our own ?” he asked.
Beigh wondered why India was choosing to ignore the plight of the people of PoGB and PoJK and urged the Indian government to take a more active stance.
“Why is India choosing to ignore the plight of the people of POGB and POJK, who we consider as Indians living under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947?” he asked.
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