There is no doubt that the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir have genuine concerns. No responsible government, political party or commentator can dismiss public anxiety over flour, electricity, prices, jobs, health facilities, schools, roads and governance. In fact, the first duty of any state is to listen when people complain. A citizen who asks for affordable bread, fair bills and better services is not committing a crime. He is exercising his right.

But rights also demand responsibility. This is why the proposed June 9 strike by the Joint Awami Action Committee raises a serious question: will another shutdown bring relief to the ordinary Kashmiri, or will it hurt the very people in whose name it is being called?

The easiest slogan in our politics is protest. The hardest work is reform. It is simple to close markets, block roads and paralyse daily life. It is much harder to ensure transparent implementation of agreements, audit subsidies, monitor delivery and force governments to explain where public money is going. Yet that is exactly where the real battle lies.

Azad Kashmir is not an abandoned territory in Pakistan’s national........

© Daily Times