The impact of the violent and massive civilian protests that have erupted in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) since June 5 following Islamabad’s questionable decision  to ban the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), and declare it a terrorist organisation, is now being felt severely.

The imposition of the ban in the name of maintaining law and order and the resultant unrest has sparked off severe inflation, a further rise in power tariffs, not to speak of political disenfranchisement. So far, over 30 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the violent clashes that peaked on June 9, 2026.

At the crux of the agitation is the determined opposition to the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government and the omnipresent Pakistan Army determination to bulldoze democratic rights by preventing JAAC from contesting the July 27 PoJK assembly elections. As the JAAC’s 38-point charter of demands seeks to correct the palpably visible local political and administrative calumny, both the government and military are reluctant to accept the same and this is at the core of the political and socio-economic impasse.

While inflation, shortage of water and high electricity costs fuelled the initial fire, the final breakdown in negotiations between the disputing parties occurred over the lack of political representation in the PoJK assembly. The JAAC is demanding the abolition of 12 reserved refugee seats in the assembly, which locals claim Islamabad uses to rig regional elections. The........

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