The story so far:

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is again in the throes of civilian unrest as protests for economic justice and equitable political representation rage across the region. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which called for the protests, has since been banned by the regional government, for “engaging in terrorism”.

What is the JAAC and why did it call for protests?

The JAAC, an umbrella organisation of various civil society groups, trade bodies, students organisations and socio-religious groups based in PoK, was formed in 2023, out of protests against rising electricity tariffs and inflation. They brought out a 38-point Charter of Demands which included access to subsidised wheat flour, fair electricity pricing based on hydropower generation costs from the local Mangla dam, and the abolishment of the reservation of 12 seats for refugees in PoK’s Legislative Assembly.

While the JAAC was given assurances regarding electricity tariffs, their “non-fulfillment” led to wider protests. In May 2024, the JAAC called for a march to Muzaffarabad over their demands, which led to the police arresting around 70 members of the organisation. Outrage against the arrests resulted in clashes between civilians and the police, leaving at least four dead and hundreds injured. In the wake of this violence, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the grant of a $86.25 million subsidy programme.

In October 2025, protests again emerged due to a breakdown of talks between officials and the JAAC. The ensuing violence killed at least 10 people. The government then agreed to some demands which included providing compensation for those killed in the violence, releasing funds for the implementation of health cards, and issuing a grant of PKR 10 billion for the improvement of the electricity system.

While it was also decided that a high-powered committee comprising legal and constitutional experts would deliberate on the issue of members of the PoK Assembly, the central question remained unaddressed.

How did the situation escalate?

Elections to the regional government of PoK have been scheduled for July 27. The JAAC announced that they would take out a protest march to Muzaffarabad, calling for an end to the reservation of the 12 refugee seats, on June 9 — the same day on which the filing of nominations for the elections was to begin.

In an effort to nip the march in the bud, the regional authorities banned the JAAC under a 2014 anti-terrorism law and placed a bounty for its most prominent leaders. They said the organisation had acted in a manner “prejudicial to peace and security” of the state. This led to widespread protests in various cities, particularly Mirpur, Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad, with police personnel clashing with civilian protesters.

On June 8, at least 11 people, including four police officers, were killed and dozens injured when regional authorities opened fire on activists and protesters gathered in Rawalakot for the funeral of a local trade activist who had been killed during an earlier protest.

While the proscribed JAAC has called for strikes, leaving life paralysed in the streets of Muzaffarabad, many parts of the region continue to witness violent clashes, with reports indicating that the death toll has crossed 30.

Regional authorities have deployed paramilitary troops in the region to restore law and order and have also issued a strict travel advisory urging visitors to avoid travelling to the region. Reports also say that Internet in the region has been severely restricted.

Why has the reservation of refugees become a flashpoint?

The political question regarding the 12 reserved refugee seats is at the heart of the protests. The regional Assembly of the PoK has a total of 53 seats. Of these, 45 seats are directly elected by the public (33 are elected by the general public while 12 seats are reserved for refugees). The remaining eight seats are reserved (five for women, one for a technocrat, one for a religious scholar and one is a diaspora seat) and are filled via nominations after the general elections.

The 12 reserved seats are for communities who migrated to Pakistan from Jammu and Kashmir during Partition. Over the years, these groups have integrated into Pakistani cities and polity. In fact, most of these 12 seats have often been won by political parties such as the Pakistan Peoples Party or the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. As the journalist Luv Puri writes, “…the 12 refugee seats account for around 4.36 lakh registered voters, while the remaining 33 directly elected seats in PoK have around 33 lakh voters. In effect, one refugee vote cast from Pakistan carries electoral weight far greater than that of a voter residing in PoK”.

Pakistan maintains that PoK, or what it calls ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’, is an independent region with its own polity and that Pakistan supports its right to self-determination. At the same time, candidates who are elected to the regional Parliament have to sign loyalty oaths supporting the “cause of accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan”. This has led to questions regarding the undue influence of Islamabad in the regional politics of PoK.

In a further setback to such regional demands, on June 7, the Supreme Court of PoK observed that the 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished through administrative or executive measures; only a constitutional amendment can fulfil the demand to abolish refugee representation.

How have the Indian and Pakistani governments reacted?

On June 9, India asked the international community to hold Pakistan responsible for the civilian killings and human rights abuses in PoK. “There are reports of severe police brutality in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in which several protesters have been killed and many injured. We hope the international community will hold Pakistan accountable for its misdeeds and abuses,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a press briefing. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah condemned the violence and demanded a probe by the United Nations into the incidents of atrocities.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi dismissed India’s statements “in their entirety” and went on to state that “it is untenable” for a country like India which has “consistently denied the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to self-determination to claim concerns over the rights of Kashmiris.”

The unrest has also generated global outrage. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International stated that the regional administration’s sweeping crackdown on protests is a continuation of the “alarming deterioration of human rights in the region”.

On June 6, a group of nearly 30 British parliamentarians, in a letter to the U.K. Foreign Office, raised concerns over reports of communication disruptions, arrests, and “escalating tensions” in the PoK. They urged the British government to engage proactively and use diplomatic channels to encourage a peaceful de-escalation in the region.

Published – June 14, 2026 02:12 am IST

A deserted view of a street during a shutter-down strike called by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an alliance of civil society groups, in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, on June 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Police officials patrol an area amid the ongoing violence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after violent clashes in Muzaffarabad, PoK on June 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Police officials patrol an area amid the ongoing violence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after violent clashes in Muzaffarabad, PoK on June 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on September 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly criticised Indian government actions in Kashmir, drawing a parallel between Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.

“Similarly, like the people of Palestine, the people of Jammu and Kashmir too, have struggled for a century for their freedom and right to self determination,” he said, accusing India of reneging on its commitments to implement U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Sharif accused India of extra-judicial killings, prolonged curfews in the region and other “draconian measures”.

“In a classic settler colonial project, India is seizing Kashmiri lands and properties and settling outsiders into occupied Jammu and Kashmir [ Jammu and Kashmir] in their nefarious design to transform the Muslim majority into a minority,” he said.

Mr. Sharif highlighted the expansion in India’s military capabilities and said India’s leadership had “threatened to cross the Line of Control”.

“Mr. President, let me state in no uncertain terms that Pakistan will respond most decisively to any Indian aggression,” he said, thumping the lectern.

In a segment on Islamophobia, he identified what he termed the “Hindu supremacist agenda” in India as the “most alarming manifestation” of the issue, saying it was aimed at subjugating Indian Muslims and the “obliteration of India’s Islamic heritage”.

It is normal practice for Pakistan’s representative to raise issues around India each year during the U.N. General Assembly debates. India normally responds, exercising its ‘right of reply’.

Jammu:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that the Pakistan government has called the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as ‘foreigners’ while India considers them as its own citizens.

Addressing an election rally of the BJP in Ramban district of Jammu division, Rajnath Singh referred to the BJP-PDP coalition government and said, “During Mehbooba-led government, we withdrew cases against minors and those who were innocent. But the problem was that the PDP was sympathetic to separatists. I would always tell her to bring the ground situation under control, but she couldn’t. People of J&K are free citizens of India and they have a right to peace and prosperity.

“In contrast to this, in a recent affidavit, the solicitor general of Pakistan has called the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as ‘foreigners’. We don’t call them foreigners. They are our people. Let them come and join us. After a government is formed in J&K, the people of PoK will want to come and join India,” he asserted. He strongly criticised former J&K chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice president, Omar Abdullah for saying Afzal Guru should not have been hanged.

“Omar Abdullah has said Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him did he want Afzal Guru to be garlanded?” Mr Singh queried.

The Union minister said he has come for the first time to Ramban, but the people have given him a warm welcome. “I greet all of you. After 10 years, Assembly elections are being held in J&K. Entire country is watching the outcome of this election. I was in America recently and the Indian diaspora there asked me what would happen in these elections. I told them BJP will form the govt in J&K,” he claimed.

“While coming here, I asked Dr Jitendra Singh about the ground situation and he told me that such a conducive political atmosphere in favour of BJP is far greater than his expectations. In the past, whenever, 2, 6 or 10 per cent voting would take place in Kashmir it would become a big news. 58 per cent voting took place in Lok Sabha elections and in Ladakh it went to 72 per cent,” he added.

“First time, there was an election here which was held without fear and without any partisan consideration. This is a great change for us. The people of J&K are hard-working and talented. If BJP rules J&K for the next 10 years, J&K will be the most prosperous place in India,” Rajnath Singh opined.

“Since Modiji took over as the Prime Minister, our economy has grown from 11th place to become the 5th largest economy in the World. Independent economic surveys and media reports now accept that in 2027 India would be 3rd largest in size after US and China,” he claimed.

“Give an opportunity to BJP to form the government here and we will change the face of this place in 10 years. We have already changed the ground situation in the last 10 years. Even Tazia (Muharram) procession was not allowed in Kashmir and we made this procession take place,” the Union minister said.

“Nobody has the guts today to fire a pistol or hurl a stone at Lal Chowk. Countries need a strong-willed PM and we are fortunate to have one in Modiji. In J&K women were deprived of their rights. We will ensure that West Pakistan refugees, Safaikaramcharis, Valmiki Samaj and others will vote in the Assembly elections. We ensured OBC reservations in Panchayats and urban bodies,” he further claimed.

“PM Modi abrogated article 370 and nobody rose against this. NC manifesto says they will restore 370. Nobody can restore 370 now. For the first time, a G-20 meeting was held in Kashmir Valley. This is called governance. Kashmir was called a terrorism spot, but now it is called a tourism spot,” he said.

He referred to developments in the last 10 years and said that the Muharram procession, railway link, Rs 38000 core worth developmental works, reducing the travel time from Jammu to Srinagar from 14 to 4 hours, 40,000 recruitments in last 5 years.

“Not a single stone pelting incident since 2022. Those youth who had pistols in their hands had rave tablets and laptops. We abrogated 370, if Congress has guts, let them get it back. As long as the BJP is there, no power on earth can bring 370 back,” he asserted.

He also referred to the Parliamentary delegation that went to meet hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani on September 4, 2016. “I was part of the Parliamentary delegation and I told members that the Hurriyat is allergic to the BJP, but if they wanted to go to meet the Hurriyat, they could. When they went to their door, the Hurriyat people shut their door on them,” Rajnath recalled.

He referred to the manifesto and the promises made in that. He said incomplete border fencing will be completed, two free gas cylinders will be provided to families of weaker sections, students of remote areas higher secondary schools will be given free tablets and laptops, Jammu will have a riverfront on Tawi, Ramban and Banihal will have tourist destination areas. Jammu and Srinagar will get Metro services and migrant Kashmiri Pandits will be brought back to the Kashmir Valley with safety and honour. In the end, he appealed to voters to elect BJP candidate, Rakesh Gupta with a huge majority.

J&K will go to the polls in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1 while counting will take place on October 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Security personnel cordon off a street during a protest by demonstrators of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India on May 17 said the protests witnessed in several parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are a “natural consequence” of Islamabad’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from the region that remains under its “forcible and illegal” occupation.

India also asserted that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India”.

Also read: The recent unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir | Explained

Violent protests erupted in PoK over rising costs of food, fuel and essential utilities as Pakistan reels under a severe economic crisis.

“We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

He was responding to a question on the protests in PoK.

“We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan’s continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from these territories which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

“Such exploitative policies deny the local people, rights over their own resources and the benefits thereof,” he said.

“We reiterate that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India,” he added.

Two days ago, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was, is and will always be part of India.

“I have no doubt in my own mind that someone living in PoK is comparing their situation with someone actually living in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that how is it that people today are actually progressing there,” he said.

Earlier this month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India will never give up its claim of PoK but it won’t have to capture it with force because its people, on their own, would want to be part of India after seeing the development in Kashmir.

“I think India will not have to do anything. The way the ground situation has changed in Jammu and Kashmir, the way the region is witnessing economic progress and the way peace has returned there, I think demands will emerge from people of PoK that they should merge with India,” he said.

“We will not have to use force to take PoK as people would say that we must be merged with India. Such demands are now coming,” he said.

The defence minister asserted that “PoK was, is, and will remain ours”.

At least three people were killed and six others injured when security forces opened fire on protesters during clashes with paramilitary Rangers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarabad which has been rocked by protests against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills, a media report said on May 14

The paramilitary Rangers, which were called in to maintain law and order in the disputed region, came under attack while moving out of the region, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Instead of exiting via Brarkot, the village bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the 19-vehicle convoy, including five trucks, chose to exit the region from Kohala, it said.

As the convoy reached Muzaffarabad in a “charged atmosphere”, it was pelted with rocks near Shorran da Nakka village, to which they responded with teargas and firing, the report said.

After entering the city through the Western Bypass, the Rangers were welcomed with rocks again, prompting them to use teargas and bullets. The shelling was so intense that the entire neighbourhood reeled from it, the report said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on May 13 approved a Pakistani rupee 23 billion subsidy for immediate release to the region after the negotiations between the protesters and the regional Government ended in a deadlock.

However, the Government’s decision to dole out the subsidy failed to pacify the region, the report said.

The disputed region also witnessed clashes on May 11 between the police and activists of a rights movement, leaving at least one police officer dead and injuring over 100 people, mostly Policemen. A complete strike has also been observed in the territory since May 10, bringing life to a halt.

Shortly before the violence, Prime Minister Sharif and the disputed region’s ‘Prime Minister’ Anwarul Haq after a meeting had approved the release of Pakistani Rs 23 billion for the region on account of power and wheat subsidies.

The subsidised rate for 40kg flour will be Pakistani Rs 2,000, down from Pakistani Rs 3,100. The electricity tariff was reduced to Pakistani Rs 3, Rs 5 and Rs 6 per unit for up to 100, 300, and more than 300 units, respectively, the Dawn reported.

The protest is led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has traders at the forefront in most parts of the region, who have been seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in the region, subsidised wheat flour and an end to the privileges of the elite class.

A long march led by the JAAC left for Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, on May 13 as the wheel-jam strike entered its fourth day.

The movement announced its march on Muzaffarabad after the talks between the JAAC core committee and Chief Secretary of the region Dawood Bareach ended in a stalemate.

Expressing deep concern over the violent clashes between the Police and the protesters, Prime Minister Sharif on May 12 said that there should be “absolutely no tolerance for taking the law into one’s own hands”.

“I urge all parties to resort to a peaceful course of action for resolution of their demands. Despite the best efforts of detractors, the matter will hopefully be settled soon,” he said.

As part of his efforts to calm down tensions, President Asif Ali Zardari urged all the stakeholders to exercise restraint and resolve the issues through dialogue and mutual consultation.

Srinagar/New Delhi:

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been hit by civilian unrest and a massive crackdown has been launched by the authorities to quell protests that have spread across the occupied region.

A police officer was killed and 90 others were injured in fresh clashes on Saturday.

The protests that started against inflation, high taxation, and electricity shortage have turned into a movement for rights and freedom across PoK.

Protesters have been shouting slogans for “azadi (freedom)”. They clashed with police and security agencies in Muzaffarabad and others districts.

The protests are spearheaded by Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, with traders are on the forefront.

Dozens of leaders and members of the Action Committee have been arrested after they called the strike on Friday.

“There is going to be a complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strike observed across PoK and specifically in Muzaffarabad against the police brutality against our peaceful protesters in Dadyal,” said Saukat Nawaz Mir, chairman of the Traders Association Muzaffarabad and member of the Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, news agency IANS reported.

“I call on everyone to come out today and raise your voice for your rights,” he added as videos of locals demanding freedom from the Pakistani establishment went viral.

The committee had staged a similar protest in August 2023 as well.

“We reject imposition of taxes on electricity bills. Instead, we demand that electricity should be provided to consumers in accordance with the production cost of hydel power in the region,” said Shaukat Nawaz Mir.

On May 5, emphasising that PoK has always been a part of India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said the “very sorry state of affairs” has continued because the earlier governments did not ensure Pakistan vacated the region after Independence.

“PoK has never been out of this country. It has always been a part of this country. There is a resolution of the Indian parliament that PoK is very much a part of India. Now, how did other people get control? Ab ho jaata hai (it happens) when you have someone who is not a responsible custodian of a house, an outsider will come and steal something,” Mr Jaishankar said during an interactive session in Odisha’s Cuttack.

“Here you have allowed another country… It was because we did not pursue the vacation of Pakistan from these territories in the early years of Independence that this very sorry state of affairs has continued. What will happen in the future is very difficult to tell. But, I always tell people one thing that today PoK is in the consciousness once again of the people of India. We had forgotten about it, we were made to forget about it, but it is back now, definitely,” he added.

It was not the first time Mr Jaishankar blamed the previous Congress governments for several problems that had emerged on the foreign policy front, post Independence. A week earlier in Hyderabad, he told a gathering that Sardar Patel had opposed India approaching the UN on the Kashmir issue, but India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru disregarded it.

With inputs from IANS