A massive wave of protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has delivered a direct challenge to Pakistan's decades-old narrative of championing Kashmiri Muslim rights, with crowds exceeding 70,000 at Rawalakot's Eidgah Ground chanting 'Pak Forces Out' and 'We want freedom' — an open call for independence from Islamabad's control. The unrest, which reportedly left more than 32 civilians dead between 8 June and 16 June 2026, has drawn international scrutiny and exposed a widening chasm between the occupied territory's population and the Pakistani state.

How the Protests Began

The current agitation traces its roots to 2023, when residents of PoK began organising against steep electricity tariffs and acute flour shortages. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) — a broad coalition of traders, lawyers, transporters, students, and civil society groups — emerged as the primary vehicle for these demands. The JAAC subsequently formalised a 38-point charter of demands, encompassing subsidised essentials, local electoral reforms, and the abolition of 12 reserved assembly seats that locals reportedly view as diluting their political voice.

What began as a civic grievance movement has, according to reports, transformed into an explicit push for independence from Pakistani control — a significant escalation that analysts say reflects years of accumulated resentment.

State Response: Crackdown and Casualties

Pakistani paramilitary forces reportedly opened fire on protesters in Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot last month. The International Human Rights Foundation documented more than 32 civilian deaths between 8 June and 16 June 2026, while protest groups and local media have claimed the total number of wounded ranges between 200 and 300. Amnesty International documented internet shutdowns, mass arbitrary arrests, and the application of anti-terrorism laws against the JAAC — a grassroots civic coalition that Islamabad has since formally designated a 'terrorist organisation'.

Experts argue that the decision to ban the JAAC and deploy lethal force reflects a broader military-driven strategy to suppress the growing unrest, rather than address its structural causes.

The Structural Economic Grievance

A report by Eurasia Review underscored a central contradiction at the heart of PoK's economic relationship with Pakistan: the territory contributes significantly to Pakistan's hydropower output, yet its residents pay electricity tariffs well above production costs. Consumers in mainland Pakistan, by contrast, benefit from preferential rates. Critics argue this arrangement amounts to resource extraction — the occupied territory generating power for the Pakistani state while receiving inadequate compensation in return.

The demonstrators — traders, students, lawyers, and women — were demanding affordable electricity and wheat subsidies, according to the same report. The economic dimension has lent the protest movement broad cross-sectional support that purely political movements have historically struggled to achieve in the region.

The Contrast With Jammu and Kashmir

The unrest in PoK stands in sharp relief against developments on the Indian side of the Line of Control. In the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Legislative Assembly elections were held in 2024, and sustained infrastructure investment has continued — including the inauguration of the Chenab Bridge in June 2025, the world's highest railway bridge, linking the region to the national rail network, according to the report.

For nearly eight decades, Pakistan has invoked the 'Two-Nation Theory' as the moral and political basis for its position on Kashmir. The scale and nature of the current protests in PoK — with crowds explicitly rejecting Pakistani authority — represents, according to analysts cited in the Eurasia Review report, a stark rebuttal to that long-held claim.

What Happens Next

Thousands of protesters in Rawalakot have declared that the time has come to free the occupied region from Islamabad's control. Experts point out that the regional administration in PoK remains 'toothless' and entirely subservient to Islamabad, leaving the local population with no credible institutional channel to address their grievances. With communications disrupted and protests being suppressed, international human rights organisations are likely to increase scrutiny of the situation in the weeks ahead.