Problems of governance exist across the developing world. Whenever a movement emerges on the basis of such problems, the first question that arises is whether these issues are the reason behind the movement or merely its excuse. In other words, is the movement genuinely driven by these grievances, or are they being used as a pretext for something else?

The narrative surrounding the recent movement in Azad Kashmir suggests that the issue is not one of reason but of excuse. The language being employed is not the language of a rights-based movement; it is the language of disruption and confrontation. No matter how real the grievances may be, efforts to address them are ordinarily pursued within a constitutional framework. Here, however, the matter appears to be something different. Certain elements seem determined to take on the Pakistani state and its institutions head-on. This does not appear to be a struggle for rights; it appears to be an attempt to create internal unrest.

After what was done to Arab societies in the name of the Arab Spring, it has become essential to examine the true objectives and likely consequences of any such movement before allowing emotions, anger, and grievances to turn people into its fuel. Arab societies, too, were swept up by movements launched in the name of rights and reform. The outcome is there for all to see.

Kashmir is a sensitive region. Efforts to create unrest there are never confined to domestic politics alone; they inevitably carry a strategic dimension. Success in turning people against the state in this region also gives India an opportunity to ask what Pakistan is doing in Azad Kashmir while claiming to champion the cause of Indian-administered Kashmir. The intensity and inflammatory rhetoric, with which this movement is being conducted, as well as the enthusiasm with which overseas actors are adding fuel to the fire, deserve careful scrutiny.

If one wishes to launch movements based on grievances through provocative rhetoric, then what exactly is so idyllic about Punjab? Punjab, too, could argue that if electricity costs three rupees per unit in Kashmir because of the Mangla Dam, how is it that flour is available in Kashmir at prices lower than those in Punjab itself, and why should that be the case?

Does Punjab suffer from a shortage of problems? Its economy depends heavily on agriculture, yet quality seed is difficult to obtain, water shortages persist, electricity is expensive, fertilizers are often unavailable, and when crops are harvested, farmers struggle to get fair prices. Middlemen routinely exploit them. Should Punjab, then, also take to the streets, abusing the state, its institutions, and its constituent units?

Where are there no problems? The entire country faces difficulties. Kashmir does too, and undoubtedly many of them. But when a movement for their resolution begins to drift toward disorder and internal instability, it becomes natural to ask why unrest seems to be encouraged precisely in those regions that hold strategic importance for Pakistan.

Pakistan faces two major issues.

The first is that a certain segment of society is perpetually in protest mode. Some people are simply predisposed to it; they seem to require constant drama to stay engaged. Others are victims of populism and play the revolutionary for ratings and attention. Some use........

© The Patriot