An eerie scene unfolded on a busy main road in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, as dozens of vehicles heading to various parts of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) were suddenly stopped by a group of masked men. Following this forced stop, a chilling scene unfolded as veiled Pakistani men started graffitiing the Kashmiri vehicles with slogans such as: “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Pakistani Army Zindabad”.
But this is not an isolated incident of arbitrary vandalism. It is just one example of the disturbing xenophobic trend that has gripped Pakistan in recent days and is a vicious response to the growing unrest in PoJK. Alarmed by the surge in protests against its repressive policies, the Pakistani government responded with violence, leaving dozens dead and dozens injured. These incidents have once again revealed the colonial mindset of the Pakistani state and people towards Jammu and Kashmir. They have also once again drawn attention to Islamabad’s continued denial of fundamental rights to the people of PoJK, beyond the facade of a hollow political system in name only.
The roots of this unrest can be traced back to grievances that have been simmering within PoJK for the past year. In May 2023, protests erupted over exorbitant electricity tariffs and the withdrawal of subsidies on basic commodities, especially wheat, exploding decades of simmering grievances. Given the scale of the demonstrations, a Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of representatives from each district of PoJK was convened to spearhead the protests demanding redress of legitimate grievances.
The JAAC has drawn up a 10-point list of demands, including the withdrawal of electricity tax, reinstatement of wheat subsidies, transfer of ownership of hydropower projects to the PoJK government, 4G mobile phone services and the elimination of student unions.
But Islamabad’s response was flight and repression, not reconciliation or reform. The Pakistani government, with the help of local proxies such as ineffectual local governments, turned a deaf ear to the plight of impoverished communities and continued to play a cat-and-mouse game with the JAAC. As these political demonstrations gathered momentum in May this year, Pakistani authorities resorted to familiar violent repression tactics to crush peaceful protesters with ruthless efficiency. For example, in an incident in Muzaffarabad on May 13, Pakistani paramilitary forces used live ammunition on peaceful protesters, killing three and wounding 12.
However, amid the chaos and bloodshed, a remarkable defiance has emerged from the streets of PoJK. For the first time in recent years, the people of PoJK have dared to challenge the stranglehold of the Pakistan Army, defying the military’s surveillance and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)’s complex intelligence network. Social media is awash with pictures of young people replacing the Pakistani flag with the PoJK flag at key landmarks in Muzaffarabad and other prominent cities and towns.
At the same time, Islamabad’s violent response exposes the hollowness of its self-proclaimed benefactor role to the Kashmiri people, while the simultaneous rise in xenophobic backlash from ordinary Pakistanis against the residents of Jammu and Kashmir essentially reveals the deeply colonial mindset that underlies Pakistan’s historical approach to Jammu and Kashmir. These protests have forced the Pakistani government to pressure local proxies such as the Muslim Conference to hold counter-rallies in support of Islamabad and the Pakistani military, but are despised by the local population.
It is interesting that Pakistan has perpetuated its benevolent attitude by claiming to have provided a so-called “autonomous” system of governance to PoJK through various constitutional arrangements over the years. However, these arrangements have effectively stripped the people of PoJK of their rights, political autonomy and resources, while Pakistan has maintained comprehensive control over the region and engaged in plundering the region’s resources, from minerals to water resources.
For example, the 1974 Provisional Constitution of Pakistan Java Kashmir, drafted by Pakistan’s Ministry of Kashmir, created separate offices such as president, prime minister and Supreme Court. However, the constitution gave Islamabad absolute powers to “dismiss any elected government…irrespective of the support it enjoys in the AJK Legislative Assembly.” Thus, not only can Pakistan’s Minister for Kashmir dismiss the government of Pakistan Java Kashmir, but even the highest ranking federal official in Muzaffarabad, the territory’s Chief Secretary, can exercise discretionary powers to dismiss the prime minister, making a travesty of even the nominal nature of the system.
This constitutional arrangement therefore renders PoJK’s so-called “autonomous” government essentially subordinate to Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Kashmir.
Similarly, the Constitution established two administrative forums for PoJK: the Muzaffarabad-based PoJK Government, which is formed by the largest political party in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly, and the Islamabad-based Azad Kashmir Council (AKC), which functions under the control of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Significantly, the Council exercises absolute power over the PoJK Assembly, and its decisions are final and not subject to judicial review. The Constitution further details that the Pakistani government controls 52 subjects through the Kashmir Council, leaving almost nothing in the legislative sphere of the PoJK Assembly. This therefore gives Islamabad control over virtually everything that matters to PoJK, thereby reinforcing the power of the local government not to exceed that of the municipal administration.
Moreover, Pakistan maintains in its 1974 constitution a provision for a federal bureaucracy in PoJK, including civilian and police officers who hold decision-making positions across the administrative unit. This allows Islamabad to directly control micro- and macro-governance issues in the region, as these officials are more accountable to the federal government than to the PoJK government. PoJK’s powerlessness is reflected in one of Human Rights Watch’s annual reports, which states: “The Pakistani bureaucracy is the actual executive power, while the ISI and the Pakistani army exercise coercive power. And under the constitution, elected representatives are subordinate to the Pakistan-administered Kashmir Council. High court and Supreme Court judges can only be appointed with the approval of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs in Islamabad.”
Moreover, the Pakistani military has assumed a leading role in administering the region, with a two-star officer from the Murli-based 12th Infantry Division wielding more power than the president and prime minister of the so-called “Azad” Kashmir government.
Thus, this arrangement reflects a typical colonial system, allowing Islamabad to control both micro- and macro-level governance issues in the region. Pakistan has long used the nominal autonomy of its political offices in PoJK to conceal the reality of its governmental authority at the city level and create the impression of autonomy in the region. In this context, the year-long protests in PoJK have assumed significance, as they have not only unsettled the Pakistani state and its military establishment, but also exposed its imperialist approach towards the region.
