Amid protests & clashes, legislative assembly of PoK heads to polls today
On July 17, the Office of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commissioner also took note of the situation, calling for “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all deaths that have occurred due to the unrest”.
Amid violent protests and clashes that have been going on for several weeks now, the legislative assembly of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will head to election on Monday. The polls will be held in three phases, ending August 10, authorities have announced.
While unrest has been brewing in PoK for more than a year, the spate of violent clashes in recent weeks — in the run-up to elections — has left at least 20 people dead at the hands of security personnel, and several others injured, according to news agency PTI.
Primarily led by civil society coalition Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), now banned by the Pakistan government, the latest spate of demonstrations, sources said, reflect the growing anger over economic hardship, political disenfranchisement and increasing restrictions on civil liberties.
A source in the security establishment said, “Widespread public anger is directed at the 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for non-residents — a manipulative tactic used by the federal government to plant loyalists and dilute genuine local representation.”
Sources said that is one of the key reasons why the party ruling Islamabad usually wins PoK elections — be it Pakistan People’s Party in 2011, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in 2016 or Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2021.
Of the 53 seats in the legislative assembly of PoK, eight are reserved for women, technocrats and clerics. Of the remaining 45, 12 are reserved for migrants settled in different parts of Pakistan. It is these 12 seats that have been a bone of contention with locals demanding that this reservation be abolished.
‘Integral part of India’
According to sources closely monitoring developments in the area, the ongoing unrest was triggered by “a total collapse of local governance, with authorities imposing an economic blockade that has caused critical shortages of subsidised wheat and essential medicines”.
They say that the anger is also driven by what is called “economic extraction”. “The dams in PoK generate power far beyond the local demand of about 400 MW, yet residents face up to 15-20 hours of load shedding and pay tariffs several times the cost of generation,” they added.
The protesters’ 38-point charter directly targets the alleged financial corruption and unchecked privileges of the ruling elite. The source also pegged the number of lives lost to indiscriminate firing by security forces on peaceful protesters at 150.
New Delhi maintains that PoK is an integral part of India under illegal occupation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the recent public unrest is the direct result of “Islamabad’s decades-long systemic economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights, and administrative oppression”.
On July 14, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir are a direct consequence, and indeed evidence, of decades of exploitation, the denial of fundamental rights, and administrative repression under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation of the region.”
“Instead of addressing the legitimate grievances of the local population, the authorities there have resorted to excessive police brutality,” he said, adding that this has included action against vulnerable civilians, including women and children. “We expect the international community to hold Pakistan accountable for these grave human rights abuses,” Jaiswal added.
On July 17, the Office of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commissioner also took note of the situation, calling for “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all deaths that have occurred due to the unrest”.
Fresh escalation
The latest wave of protests was triggered after the Pakistani government banned JAAC under anti-terrorism laws.
Following the ban, JAAC leader Sardar Aman Khan appealed for assistance from India. “We need India’s help. There is a shortage of rations…,” Khan was seen saying in a video that has been widely shared on social media.
Sources said that Pakistan is “weaponising anti-terror laws to crush civil liberties, banning the JAAC and arbitrarily arresting over 600 civil rights activists and local leaders”.
Meanwhile, sources said that Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is marketing a “theoretical $6 trillion mineral dream” resting heavily on Gilgit-Baltistan, where an army-linked firm was caught extracting ore without local approval in 2025.
Amid violent protests and clashes that have been going on for several weeks now, the legislative assembly of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will head to election on Monday. The polls will be held in three phases, ending August 10, authorities have announced.
While unrest has been brewing in PoK for more than a year, the spate of violent clashes in recent weeks — in the run-up to elections — has left at least 20 people dead at the hands of security personnel, and several others injured, according to news agency PTI.
Primarily led by civil society coalition Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), now banned by the Pakistan government, the latest spate of demonstrations, sources said, reflect the growing anger over economic hardship, political disenfranchisement and increasing restrictions on civil liberties.
A source in the security establishment said, “Widespread public anger is directed at the 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for non-residents — a manipulative tactic used by the federal government to plant loyalists and dilute genuine local representation.”
Sources said that is one of the key reasons why the party ruling Islamabad usually wins PoK elections — be it Pakistan People’s Party in 2011, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in 2016 or Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2021.
Of the 53 seats in the legislative assembly of PoK, eight are reserved for women, technocrats and clerics. Of the remaining 45, 12 are reserved for migrants settled in different parts of Pakistan. It is these 12 seats that have been a bone of contention with locals demanding that this reservation be abolished.
‘Integral part of India’
According to sources closely monitoring developments in the area, the ongoing unrest was triggered by “a total collapse of local governance, with authorities imposing an economic blockade that has caused critical shortages of subsidised wheat and essential medicines”.
They say that the anger is also driven by what is called “economic extraction”. “The dams in PoK generate power far beyond the local demand of about 400 MW, yet residents face up to 15-20 hours of load shedding and pay tariffs several times the cost of generation,” they added.
The protesters’ 38-point charter directly targets the alleged financial corruption and unchecked privileges of the ruling elite. The source also pegged the number of lives lost to indiscriminate firing by security forces on peaceful protesters at 150.
New Delhi maintains that PoK is an integral part of India under illegal occupation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the recent public unrest is the direct result of “Islamabad’s decades-long systemic economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights, and administrative oppression”.
On July 14, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir are a direct consequence, and indeed evidence, of decades of exploitation, the denial of fundamental rights, and administrative repression under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation of the region.”
“Instead of addressing the legitimate grievances of the local population, the authorities there have resorted to excessive police brutality,” he said, adding that this has included action against vulnerable civilians, including women and children. “We expect the international community to hold Pakistan accountable for these grave human rights abuses,” Jaiswal added.
On July 17, the Office of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commissioner also took note of the situation, calling for “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all deaths that have occurred due to the unrest”.
Fresh escalation
The latest wave of protests was triggered after the Pakistani government banned JAAC under anti-terrorism laws.
Following the ban, JAAC leader Sardar Aman Khan appealed for assistance from India. “We need India’s help. There is a shortage of rations…,” Khan was seen saying in a video that has been widely shared on social media.
Sources said that Pakistan is “weaponising anti-terror laws to crush civil liberties, banning the JAAC and arbitrarily arresting over 600 civil rights activists and local leaders”.
Meanwhile, sources said that Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is marketing a “theoretical $6 trillion mineral dream” resting heavily on Gilgit-Baltistan, where an army-linked firm was caught extracting ore without local approval in 2025.
