Ranbir Singh Pathania
Brimming unrest across Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) has brought to fore a profound crisis of governance. What began as public protests over exorbitant electricity tariffs, inflation, unemployment and deteriorating civic services has snowballed, slowly but firmly, into a broader movement questioning political representation, constitutional legitimacy and state accountability.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been the de facto umbrella platform with Supreme Court of Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir declining to invalidate the constitutional arrangement providing reserved Assembly seats for refugees settled elsewhere in Pakistan, acting as a trigger. Whereas, the overweening sentiment in POJK is that political representation of PoJK should remain with its permanent residents.
Nonetheless, Pakistan-backed administration declared JAAC an unlawful organisation under anti-terror laws, placed several of its leaders under restrictive security provisions, launched widespread arrests and imposed communication restrictions. Custodial killings, mass detentions, internet shutdowns, and forceful suppression of protests have further aggravated public anger. People have been virtually pushed to the wall with human and civil rights reduced to almost a naught.
These developments reveal not merely a law-and-order challenge but a deeper crisis of democratic legitimacy within Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
Pakistan's Internal Record
The developments in PoJK fit into a broader pattern with historical instances repeatedly witnessed across Pakistan.
Whenever constitutional, political or socio-economic movements emerge-from East Pakistan in 1971 to voices in Balochistan, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Sindh, or political opposition in mainland Pakistan-the state's instinct has often been securitisation rather than reconciliation.
Instead of addressing genuine public grievances, dissent is frequently portrayed as externally sponsored or anti-national. Rights-based demands are transformed into security narratives, providing justification for arrests, communication blackouts and coercive state action. And the iron heel of State comes into play. Order, equity and justice being thrown to winds with serious repressive measures unfolded.
PoJK now appears to be treading a similar trajectory.
Silence of the Valley-Centric Political Establishment
Equally revealing has been the silence of several political leaders who have been seen creating storms in tea-cups while speaking over 'so-called' human rights violations in Indian side of Jammu & Kashmir.
When allegations of excessive force, restrictions on civil liberties and suppression of political dissent emerge on other side of Line of Control, one would expect the same moral consistency.
Yet the conspicuous silence of leaders such as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah raises legitimate questions. Human rights cannot be selective. Democratic values lose credibility when they are invoked only on one side of the Line of Control while remaining silent on developments in Pakistan-occupied territories.
If human rights declarations are universal, they must be defended universally.
India's Strategic Opportunity
For India, these developments carry significance beyond humanitarian concern. Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir remains an integral part of India as reflected in Parliament's unanimous Resolution of 22 February 1994. Consequently, instability in the region has constitutional, diplomatic and strategic implications.
India's response should therefore be measured, confident and multidimensional.
Diplomatic Initiative
India has been and should with more vehemence and clarity highlight democratic deficits, restrictions on civil liberties and governance failures in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir before international institutions and responsible global partners.
Reaffirming Sovereignty
India needs to give new edge to its stance while opposing infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that traverse Gilgit-Baltistan and PoJK. India's consistent position remains that these projects pass through territory that legally belongs to India and therefore infringe upon its sovereignty.
Engaging Displaced Communities
The voices of displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir deserve greater institutional engagement. Their historical experience, documentation and constitutional rights remain important components of India's legal and historical position.
Diplomatic engagement
Diplomatic engagement is most effective when supported by credible military preparedness, economic resilience and sustained vigilance along the Line of Control.
Resolve Steeled with Constitution & Parliamentary Resolution.
Every future policy decision must remain guided by India's Constitution, unanimous Parliamentary resolution declaring J & K as integral part of India, international obligations, national security imperatives and long-term strategic interests.
Conclusion
The unfolding situation in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir demonstrates that durable peace cannot be sustained through coercion alone. Governance without legitimacy ultimately breeds instability.
For India, this is neither a moment for triumphalism nor complacency. It is a moment for strategic clarity.
Jammu & Kashmir's civil society, academia, media and political leadership should consistently expose the democratic deficit and human rights concerns prevailing across the Line of Control. The international discourse on Kashmir cannot remain 'selective' and 'one-sided'.
History favours nations that combine constitutional conviction with strategic patience, diplomatic engagement with national strength, and moral clarity with unwavering resolve.
Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir is not a Pakistan's governance challenge-it remains an unfinished constitutional question for India. The responsibility before India is to pursue that objective through law, diplomacy, national capability and steadfast commitment to its sovereign territorial integrity.
(The author is Member of Legislative Assembly of J&K.)