Protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) that started over excessive electrical energy payments and meals costs have escalated right into a mass rebellion in opposition to Islamabad and the Pakistani Military. Protesters are actually immediately questioning the concept of “Azad Kashmir,” arguing it’s neither free nor autonomous.
What started as protests over hovering utility payments and primary dwelling prices in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has quickly morphed into one of many gravest challenges to the political fiction of “Azad Kashmir” and the authority of the Pakistani state. Violent clashes swept throughout a number of districts of PoK, with 12 folks useless and greater than 200 injured until now within the safety forces’ crackdown on protests during the last three days..
No less than three police personnel have additionally been killed within the unrest throughout a strike known as by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Motion Committee (JKJAAC) as tensions escalated.
Safety forces, together with Pakistani Rangers, have been accused of opening fireplace on peaceable demonstrators in Muzaffarabad and elsewhere. Over six deaths have been reported for the reason that unrest started on September 29.
These developments sign that what began as financial calls for is morphing right into a disaster of legitimacy.
From subsidies to systemic change
On the coronary heart of the agitation lies a 38-point constitution of calls for superior by JKJAAC. These go properly past utility aid to name for deep structural modifications:
Slashing electrical energy tariffs and subsidised wheat flour. Free healthcare and schooling, and an finish to elite perks. Abolition of 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan, perceived as a colonial relic in PoK’s political system
Protest leaders and members now brazenly body the motion not merely as an financial battle however as a political awakening. In an impassioned comment, JKJAAC chief Shaukat Nawaz Mir accused the Pakistan authorities and armed forces of oppressing their very own residents, claiming that “Azad Kashmir will not be free, however shackled by a long time of exploitation and repression.”
Blackouts, blockades, crackdowns
Authorities have responded with a well-recognized playbook: communication shutdowns, highway closures, and forceful crackdowns. Pakistan has imposed web blackouts and communication restrictions in PoK to stifle coordination amongst protesters and management narratives.
Protesters have defied blockades, with giant march caravans pushing by way of obstructions to succeed in Muzaffarabad, the area’s administrative centre. Within the Mirpur district, the physique of a protester was reportedly not buried till calls for have been met, an act of symbolic resistance.
A turning level for ‘Azad Kashmir’?
For years, the idea of “Azad Kashmir” has functioned as a nominal governance zone underneath Pakistani oversight, portrayed as semi-autonomous. However the scale and tone of the protests recommend that many in PoK are not keen to simply accept that association with out substance.
Protesters now immediately goal Islamabad and the army institution, undermining the narrative that native governance in PoK is impartial. The motion’s breadth, from Muzaffarabad to Mirpur, Neelum, and extra, reveals deep, regionwide discontent, not confined to remoted pockets.
This push alerts rising discontent in opposition to the Pakistan authorities and it is poor insurance policies which have didn’t deliver financial survival for the area’s inhabitants, paving the best way for political accountability.