The culture of repeated strikes and disruptive shutdown politics has already caused significant damage to Pakistan’s broader economic and political stability. Over time, this pattern of agitation has contributed to political uncertainty, weakened economic continuity, and strained national development efforts. What is now increasingly concerning is that the same disruptive political culture is gradually extending towards Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

 Pakistan has already paid a heavy price for such practices, both in terms of economic loss and instability. It is therefore essential for the people of Azad Kashmir to understand that this form of politics, based on disruption, confrontation, and instability, does not deliver rights to the public; rather, it deepens public hardship and creates new layers of problems for ordinary citizens. 

Such a politics of chaos distances people from solutions instead of bringing them closer to them. The people of Azad Kashmir now face a critical choice. They must decide whether they want to become part of constructive, positive civic engagement that strengthens society, or allow themselves to be drawn into a politics of disruption?

The people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir hold a unique place in the heart of Pakistan. In recognition of this bond, and despite severe economic constraints, both the federal government and the Government of Azad Kashmir have continued to extend significant relief to the public in the form of subsidised flour, concessional electricity, improved access to healthcare and education, and sustained investment in development projects. 

At a time when ordinary citizens across Pakistan are struggling under the weight of inflation, high utility costs, and taxation, Azad Kashmir continues to benefit from a comparatively extensive support system built on subsidies, grants, and federal development assistance.

Against this backdrop, the recurring question is not whether public grievances exist, because they do, but whether repeated strikes are a constructive response to those grievances. When markets shut down, it is not the powerful that bear the immediate loss. It is the small shopkeeper whose fragile income disappears. It is the daily wage labourer whose day’s earnings are lost. It is the student who cannot reach school and the patient who cannot reach........

© The Patriot