by Nilesh Kunwar
Army’s Disreputable Record
The 2006 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on human rights violations in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) draws its title “With Friends Like these…” from Muzaffarabad resident Mir Afzal Suleri’s remark that “Pakistan says they are our friends and India is our enemy. I agree India is our enemy, but with friends like these, who needs enemies?” Though made two decades ago, this pithy comment is as relevant today as it was then, and the brutal clampdown on the ongoing peaceful public protests in PoK proves this point.
This HRW report merits deliberation as it concedes that “the (October 8, 2005) earthquake put the international spotlight on Azad Kashmir (PoK) for the first time. Previously, attention had been almost wholly on Jammu and Kashmir state in India, which since 1989 has endured a brutal insurgency and counterinsurgency.” It mentions that “The poor response of the Pakistani government and military to the earthquake, and the attendant further loss of life, served to highlight that even natural disasters in Kashmir have a strong human component.”
Some instances of the Pakistan army’s abject apathy exposed by HRW :
• In the first seventy-two hours after the earthquake, thousands of Pakistani troops stationed in PoK prioritized the evacuation of their own personnel over providing relief to desperate civilians.
• The international media filmed Pakistani troops standing by and refusing to help because they had "no orders" to do so as locals attempted to dig out those still alive, sending a chilling message of indifference from Islamabad.
• Many Kashmiris told HRW that prior to the earthquake, the Pakistani military kept a close watch on the population to ensure political compliance and control; this was facilitated by the placement of military installations frequently in close proximity to populated areas.
• In the context of a military presence that was more abuser than protector, and domineering Pakistani political control, the failure of the authorities to respond quickly and more humanely to the after effects of the earthquake in PoK came as little surprise.
• The Pakistani government in Islamabad, the Pakistani army and the Pakistani intelligence services (Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI) control all aspects of political life in PoK. Arbitrary arrest and detention and torture at the hands of the Pakistani military and the police; and discrimination against refugees from J&K state is commonplace.
• For those expressing independent or unpopular political views, there is a pervasive fear of Pakistani military and intelligence services-and of militant organizations acting at their behest or independently.
Culture of Impunity
It’s the prevailing culture of impunity within the Pakistan army and ISI that promotes institutionalised oppression of PoK citizens. The HRW report mentions that it “knows of no cases in which members of military and paramilitary security and intelligence agencies have been prosecuted or even disciplined for acts of torture or mistreatment,” and it has documented “incidents of torture by the ISI, and by PoK police acting at the ISI's and the army's behest."
The HRW report mentions an incident that exposes how the culture of impunity is brazenly being promoted by the authorities. All Parties National Alliance chairman Arif Shahid told HRW that Reuters correspondent Waheed Kiyani who attended a conference on Kashmir Unity was arrested by ISI in Rawalakot in 2003 and detained for two days.
After his release, Kiyani covered another seminar in Muzaffarabad where he was called on stage after the event by PoK President Maj Gen Sardar Muhammad Anwar Khan (Retd). Shahid recalls Khan telling Kiyani “in full public view to 'forget it and be grateful you are alive,' and 'offer thanksgiving prayers’.” Can there be a more flagrant instance of the institutionalised impunity enjoyed by ISI?
Public Demands
The ongoing protests in PoK are being led by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JACC), a grassroots civil-society coalition comprising traders, transporters, lawyers, students and other civic groups created in 2023. As it has no political agenda and seeks to exert public pressure on the authorities to fulfil basic economic and governance demands, JAAC enjoys immense public support. It put forth a 38-point charter of demands that fall in two main categories- one, immediate economic reforms and two, long term structural changes.
The main demands in the immediate economic reform category include reduced power tariffs, provision of wheat flour at subsidised rates. Long term structural demands call for abolition of perks and privileges enjoyed by law makers and bureaucrats as well removing the provision of reserving 12 seats in PoK Assembly for Kashmiris belonging to J&K who have settled down in PoK in 1947 and 1965. This arrangement is rightly opposed by JAAC as these seats are frequently filled by mainstream Pakistani political parties to exploit formation of governments in PoK, giving Islamabad a back-channel grip over the PoK Assembly.
It’s evident that the demands set by JAAC are justified since they have a precedent. The Government of Pakistan had promised PoK residents free/subsidised electricity as compensation during construction of the Mangla Dam in Mirpur district. Similarly, while subsidy on wheat flour to PoK residents has been withdrawn, people in Gilgit Baltistan region of PoK continue to enjoy this subsidy.
The PoK government agreed to address the 38-point demand made by JAAC in 2025 but has not acted on the proposal for withdrawing reservation of 12 seats for PoK residents from J&K settled here- a clear indication of Islamabad’s determination to ensure that PoK remains under its control. Moreover, with HRW clarifying that “Power in Azad Kashmir is exercised primarily through the Pakistani army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi,” it’s obvious that the army will never allow the PoK legislature to be independent at any cost.
Criminalising Genuine Dissent
Pakistan refers to PoK as Azad (free) Kashmir. The 2006 HRW report however busts this myth by observing that “though ‘Azad’ means ‘free,’ the residents of Azad Kashmir are anything but (free). Azad Kashmir is a land of strict curbs on political pluralism, freedom of expression, and freedom of association; a muzzled press; banned books; arbitrary arrest and detention and torture at the hands of the Pakistani military and the police.
By stating that “No person or political party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) shall be permitted to propagate against or take part in activities prejudicial or detrimental to the ideology of the State's accession to Pakistan,” the PoK Interim Constitution Act, 1974 criminalises freedom of expression and makes the ‘Azad’ prefix to PoK a cruel joke on its hapless people. The explanation given by Sardar Karamdad Khan, a lawyer based in Muzaffarabad highlighting the acute contradictions in PoK to HRW is revealing, and merits reproduction.
He maintains that “The Pakistani bureaucracy is the real administrative power, the ISI and the Pakistan army exercise coercive power. And under the constitution, the elected representatives are subservient to the Kashmir Council controlled by Pakistan. High Court and Supreme Court Judges can only be appointed by approval of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs in Islamabad. The Minister of Kashmir Affairs can dismiss the PM, as can the Chief Secretary-another Islamabad appointee. Under Article 56, the President of Pakistan can dissolve the Legislative Assembly. Surely, this is a truly unique form of self-rule.”
Not knowing how to deal with the current JAAC protest, the PoK government has conveniently proscribed this civil society coalition contending that it had “engaged in terrorism, acted in a manner prejudicial to the peace and security of the State, involved in creating anarchy in the State by intimidating public, promoting hatred and creating sense of insecurity in society and public at large etc.” However, since the HRW report has correctly concluded that "Power in Azad Kashmir is exercised primarily through the Pakistani army's General Headquarters," it's obvious that this action has been taken by the PoK government at the behest of Rawalpindi.
And with news of Rangers opening fire on peaceful protesters leading to several deaths and injuries, it’s evident that the Pakistan army is determined to deal with this situation in the only way it knows-brute force. While this may provide temporary reprieve and give an illusion of normalcy, the psychological wounds inflicted on the hapless people of PoK through excessive use of force against them won’t heal soon.
Shooting The Messenger
Under Field Marshal Munir’s charge, shooting the messenger has become the new normal. In October 2024, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a social movement created to ensure that the Pashtun community isn’t denied its human rights was proscribed under anti-terrorism laws for its alleged involvement in activities “prejudicial to the peace and security of the country.”
In March 2025, leader of Baloch Yakjethi Committee (BYC) leader Dr Mahrang Baloch along with several other activists were arrested during a sit-in and charged under several sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and continue to remain in detention till date. Just like PTM, BYC is a grassroots human rights movement using peaceful methods to oppose state abuses, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of the Baloch community.
And by proscribing JAAC in June 2026, Field Marshal Munir has scored a hat-trick by shooting down three messengers in as many years- an achievement for which he deserves due appreciation!
Nilesh Kunwar is a retired Indian Army Officer who has served in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He is a keen ‘Kashmir-Watcher,’ and after retirement is pursuing his favourite hobby of writing for newspapers, journals and think-tanks. Views expressed above are the author's own
