Islamabad, June 24 (IANS) Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) exposes a key contradiction at the core of Islamabad's Kashmir narrative. While championing the principle of "self-determination" internationally, Pakistan has established a political framework in the region that effectively allows only one outcome—"alignment with Pakistan", according to a report.
Since 1947, PoK has remained politically restricted, economically neglected, and heavily dependent on Islamabad and Rawalpindi for administrative affairs.
Pakistan has waged an extensive propaganda campaign against India on global platforms, particularly on the issue of Kashmir. Following Pakistan's illegal occupation of the region in 1947, it has projected PoK as a territory enjoying complete freedom and autonomy, though ground reality tells a different story, a report by the International Centre for Peace Studies highlighted.
"It has been selling this narrative to the international community and media for decades, presenting the situation as if everything is settled and fine there, with people happy and fully satisfied, while portraying that problems exist in Jammu and Kashmir in India and using propaganda to advance this narrative. However, the reality is quite the opposite," the report stated.
Highlighting that PoK has remained a disempowered region since Pakistan illegally occupied it in 1947, it said, protests and demonstrations against Pakistani oppression continue, with the unrest reportedly claiming more than 70 innocent civilian lives and leaving over 200 others injured.
"These mass protests have now entered their second week, with authorities reportedly responding by invoking anti-terror laws against demonstrators. Recently, around 150 protesters have been declared 'terrorists' amid the agitation. This reflects an increasingly coercive approach toward dissent, where even large-scale civilian protests over economic grievances and political rights are being framed through a security lens, further deepening repression in the region and highlighting the brutality faced by those who protest,” the report noted.
It further alleged that Pakistan’s military-controlled state machinery has imposed a complete internet and communications blackout in PoK, limiting external access to information, while army-imposed restrictions have reportedly disrupted the supply of food and other essential items.
"Deliberately depriving civilians of essential supplies needed for bare survival is profoundly inhumane and amounts to collective punishment of an entire population for nothing. Such actions violate fundamental humanitarian principles and raise serious concerns that they may reflect a genocidal intent, as well as potentially amount to a crime against humanity under international law," the report stressed.
According to the report, Pakistani authorities have pursued a model of "settler colonialism" in PoK since the outset, keeping the region "deliberately impoverished" while denying its residents basic economic, civil, and political rights.
The report stressed that despite the region's abundant resources, local residents do not reap their benefits, which are instead transferred to other Pakistani provinces, especially Punjab. It cited electricity as an example, stating that power generated in the region is distributed elsewhere while locals face heavy load shedding and high tariffs.
--IANS
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