Opinion: Occupation, Oppression, Outburst Of A People's Movement In PoK

Updated: Jun 12, 2026 12:22 pm IST Published On Jun 12, 2026 12:09 pm IST Last Updated On Jun 12, 2026 12:22 pm IST

Published On Jun 12, 2026 12:09 pm IST

Last Updated On Jun 12, 2026 12:22 pm IST

Some years ago, a prominent Pakistani civil rights activist told this writer that his country comprises Punjab and its colonies. In recent years, the Punjabi establishment has been engaged in one battle after another in most of the colonies. There is a full blown insurgency in Balochistan and K-P. There is restiveness in Sindh and South Punjab. But it is the rebellion of people in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), euphemistically called "Azad Jammu and Kashmir" against the Punjabi dominated Pakistani state that has shaken the military regime fronted by a puppet civilian government.

For decades the two occupied territories of Pakistan occupied Kashmir, namely the sliver of territory comprising the Mirpur-Muzaffarabad region (PoK), and the erstwhile "Northern Areas" or Pakistan occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) were a bastion of Pakistani nationalism. Denizens of the region, despite not being incorporated formally in Pakistan, were the strongest and staunchest advocates and defenders of Pakistan. People from PoK were recruited not only as soldiers in the Pakistan Army but also as jihadist cannon-fodder for exporting terrorism into Jammu and Kashmir. PoK was often referred to as the base camp for the 'liberation' of Kashmir from India. Ironically, the same region has today transformed as the base camp for the liberation of Kashmir from Pakistani (or more appropriately, Punjabi) occupation. That the populace in these occupied territories would rise up in revolt against the Pakistan Army dominated state structure was unimaginable even a few years ago. But it is the genius of the Lahori and Rawalpindi military and bureaucratic mindset that has made the impossible possible.

Discontent in PoK has been bubbling under the surface for some years now. It started manifesting itself towards the middle of the first decade of this century when people from the region started identifying themselves as Kashmiris and not Pakistanis. At that time there were some people who were advocating an independent Kashmir. But even though these were fringe voices, the Pakistani establishment was so terrified that it is alleged to have........

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