India said the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is the inevitable result of Islamabad’s decades of exploitation and repression, stressing that the territory is an integral part of India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the violent crackdown on demonstrators, calling on Pakistan to be held accountable for “horrific human rights violations."
“We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan occupied Jammu & Kashmir, including brutalities by Pakistani forces on innocent civilians. We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan’s oppressive approach and its systemic plundering of resources from these territories, which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation. Pakistan must be held accountable for its horrific human rights violations," the MEA said.
PoK has been gripped by one of its largest protest waves in recent years. Thousands of residents across Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Rawalakot and Neelum Valley took to the streets after talks collapsed between the Awami Action Committee (AAC)- a coalition of traders, lawyers and civil groups- and Pakistani authorities. The AAC responded with a “shutter-down and wheel-jam strike", paralysing daily life.
“Our campaign is not against any institution but for the fundamental rights denied to our people for over 70 years. Enough is enough," AAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir said.
Several people have been killed and dozens more injured after Pakistani forces opened fire on demonstrators, according to local reports. Markets remain shut, public transport has disappeared and the region is on edge under heavy security and widespread detentions.
At the centre of the agitation is a sweeping 38-point charter of demands that protesters say embodies decades of neglect and broken promises. While many demands focus on survival issues such as subsidised flour, sugar and ghee, fair electricity tariffs and access to local hydropower, others strike at the political structure of the region- including scrapping 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees in Pakistan, curbing elite privileges and reforming the judiciary to tackle corruption and political patronage.
The charter also seeks broader socio-economic relief: tax cuts for traders, delayed infrastructure projects, better schools and hospitals, equitable job opportunities for local youth, housing for disaster-affected families and fairer policies for farmers.
