Highlights
In Pakistan, it has been the norm to address issues only when they have ballooned into a full-blown crisis; be it the GB protests or the rights movement in AJK. Only few month have passed since the local population of GB had staged protests along similar lines. It remains to be seen whether the government’s steps satisfy the people in both regions in the long term.
The situation in the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has been brewing for some time now due to the high electricity prices, wheat subsidy issues and taxes. The protests started against the construction of the Neelum-Jhelum power plant in May 2023 and the locals blamed that the water of the two rivers Neelum and Jhelum has been diverted for the plant which has triggered a water scarcity in the region, affecting their day-to-day lives. The protestors also blamed that the project was meant to serve the interests of other provinces, especially Punjab.
The Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) consisting of 30 members, 3 each from all the ten districts has put forward its nine-point list of demands that includes:
- Subsidy on wheat, same as given to GB. The committee pointed out that there is no permanent subsidy on wheat and that their situation is worse than that of GB.
- Reduction on the tariff of electricity. The committee pointed out that 3,500 megawatt of electricity is produced from the region but only 350 megawatt is used for the 10 districts of the region. On top of it, there are two categories of electricity bills; 200 watt and below are protected and above 200 watt is unprotected and in this unprotected category the bills are almost double. In September 2023, the people of the region started a bill boycott movement, where they burned the bills and this movement is still on in the region.
- Scrap the subsidy for elites and reduce the 40-member cabinet: Many protesters feel that the AJK government is oversized, and that the small territory does not require so many ministers and bureaucrats to run its affairs.
- Remove ban on the student union,
- Place the Kashmir bank in the fifth Schedule,
- Upgrade the speed of internet and mobile network,
- Reduce the property transfer fee,
- Review the accountability bureau and last stop deforestation.
The rights movement in PoK and the movement for autonomy in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) are very similar. If one compares the demands put by the Awami Action Committee of GB and the JACC both talk about the basic minimum rights of the indigenous people of the region. The diversion of their resources to other provinces and keeping the locals away from the benefits are a common thread in both protests. Two main demands― the wheat subsidy and the issue of seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost― are common to the people of GB and the so-called AJK. Just like the long march to Skardu and Gilgit, the JACC announced march to Muzzafarabad, the capital city. However, the protests in GB remained mostly peaceful while the protests in AJK descended into chaos and violence. The march by the protestors turned into violent conformation between the people and the security forces, leaving more than hundred people injured and killing one police men. Â
Section 144 has been imposed in all the ten districts of AJK, and the security forces are ransacking the homes of the protesters. When the protests turned violent and the international media started commenting, PM Shehbaz Sharif ordered the immediate release of Rs. 23 billion envisaging massive subsidies on flour and electricity tariffs to control the situation. In case of GB protests, it took months for the government to take note of the situation; although their 13 demands were accepted, there is no news on their implementation so far. Â
Interestingly, the government in AJK headed by Chaudhary Anwar-ul-Haq who is associated with PTI-forward block consisting of PPP and PML-N. These mainstream parties are in cut-throat competition at the national level; how come they are on the same page or platform in AJK? Whenever there is some issue in both GB and AJK, the rubber stamp governments there would say they have no right to decide either the wheat subsidy or electricity which leads to further marginalization of the people of the region. In both regions, people are raising serious questions about the Karachi Agreement of 1949, and are pointing out that both AJK and GB have blindly surrendered their crucial rights to Pakistan. Safiullah Baigh, an influencer and activist from GB writes on X, “the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir must now reject the Karachi Agreement and demand from the United Nations and the whole world establishment of independent local authority in GB and Kashmir [read AJK] as per the UN resolutions and the end of Pakistan's interference”.
In Pakistan, it has been the norm to address issues only when they have ballooned into a full-blown crisis; be it the GB protests or the rights movement in AJK. Only few month have passed since the local population of GB had staged protests along similar lines. It remains to be seen whether the government’s steps satisfy the people in both regions in the long term. As of now, the slogan of the demonstrators― Khudmikhtari ya Hindoostan― has rattled the rulers of Pakistan so much that they disregarded the IMF’s strictures and granted immediate subsidy worth PKR 23 billion. However, it may not be easy for authorities in Islamabad to continue with such doles in the coming years, both because of IMF pressure and shrinking economic condition in the entire country. It is almost certain, therefore, that the popular mood in the entire PoK will rise against the state of Pakistan in the coming days.
*Dr Zainab Akhter is a research analyst associated with Pakistan Project at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and a Member of International Centre for Peace Studies (ICPS), New Delhi.
