Why Are Protests Raging In Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir And What Triggered The Deadly Unrest?

In Rawalakot protesters have been demonstrating against the government for more than a month. They have been there since the third week of June 2026, in the aftermath of one of the deadliest rounds of political unrest the territory has seen in years. In the city proper, a curfew has been in place since early June, enforced by federal paramilitary troops deployed from Pakistan's Punjab province and from Islamabad.

The specific trigger — a dispute over 12 reserved assembly seats — is the latest iteration of a pattern that has been recurring since 2023: public mobilisation, administrative resistance, violent escalation, civilian casualties, and a protest movement that refuses to disperse despite the cost it is being asked to pay.

What Triggered The Deadly Unrest?

The immediate trigger was the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir government's decision to maintain the reservation of 12 seats in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Legislative Assembly for refugees — specifically, for descendants of Kashmiri Muslims who fled Jammu and Kashmir after India's accession in 1947 and who now live elsewhere in Pakistan.

The JKJAAC and the broader protest movement argue that this arrangement gives voting and representation rights in POK's legislature to people who neither pay taxes in the territory, nor live there, nor are affected by its governance.

Instead of engaging with the JKJAAC's demands through dialogue, the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir government and the Pakistan federal government chose a security-first response: banning the JKJAAC under anti-terror laws, arresting its leadership, issuing travel advisories, and deploying paramilitary forces.

In the ongoing legislative elections in the province, fresh violence was triggered which has reportedly led to the death of at least 14 people. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has expressed concern over the reported deaths due to clashes between protesters and law enforcement.

What Is The JKJAAC And What Are Its 38 Demands?

The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee is a grassroots umbrella organisation that emerged in 2023 as the primary organiser of the protest movement in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. It draws together civil society groups, traders, lawyers, professionals, and ordinary residents across the territory's districts. It does not have formal electoral or party political affiliations — which is both its strength (it cannot be dismissed as a political opposition move) and its limitation (it has no direct institutional leverage).

The 38-point charter that has been the movement's programmatic document since 2023 covers a wide range: it demands economic subsidies on wheat and electricity comparable to those available in Pakistan's other provinces; investigation and accountability for officials accused of corruption in public distribution systems; social welfare and infrastructure improvements; and the abolition of the 12 reserved seats for the refugee community in the Legislative Assembly.

The territory occupies a unique constitutional position: it is neither a province of Pakistan nor an independent entity, but a Pakistan-administered territory whose governance is shaped by the unresolved India-Pakistan dispute over the broader Kashmir region. This constitutional ambiguity has historically meant that POK residents lack the same political and legal rights available to Pakistani citizens.

How Did The Protests Escalate To Deaths?

The recent protests began on July 27, 2026, with a call for a march from Rawalkot to Muzaffarabad. JKJAAC leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri said that despite protesters marching peacefully waving white flags, the Pakistani forces opened fire on them.

“Our peaceful long march was moving toward Rawalakot, and from there it was meant to proceed to Muzaffarabad. The entire world witnessed that our protesters were present in numbers reaching hundreds of thousands. Despite such large numbers, our protesters advanced in a disciplined and peaceful manner, holding white flags—flags of peace," Kashmiri said. Despite this peaceful demonstration, Pakistani forces reacted in an extremely brutal, cruel and oppressive manner. Bullets were fired at defenceless civilians, and modern weaponry was deployed against them," he said.

What Is The Historical Context?

This cycle of protest and crackdown in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is not a single event — it is a pattern documented over fifteen years. The 2026 protests are the most deadly in recent memory, but they follow earlier escalations in 2023, 2024, 2025, and going back to Gilgit-Baltistan in 2011. The recurring presence of the JKJAAC and its 38-point charter across multiple years of unrest reflects a consistent failure to address the underlying governance and economic grievances that produce the protests.

The protest movement began in May 2023 with a specific economic trigger: skyrocketing electricity bills and flour smuggling that caused acute shortages in subsidised wheat supplies. POK residents pay among the highest electricity rates in the region despite the territory generating significant hydroelectric power — energy that is transmitted to Pakistan's national grid at preferential rates while POK residents pay market prices.

The May 2024 long march toward Muzaffarabad produced at least five deaths, including a police officer. The 2025 protests produced at least 12 more civilian deaths. The 2026 escalation is the fourth consecutive year of major unrest.

What Are The Implications For India And The Region?

The unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir is being closely watched by India for two reasons. First, it provides evidence that the territory's population, which Islamabad presents as the primary beneficiary of Pakistan's position on Kashmir, is in fact deeply dissatisfied with Pakistani administration. Indian government media and strategic affairs commentators have highlighted the JKJAAC protests as evidence of the governance crisis in POK.

Whether Pakistan's government addresses the 38-point charter through dialogue or continues to manage the unrest through security deployment will determine whether Pakistan Occupied Kashmir's cycle of protest and crackdown produces yet another year of deaths — or a genuine political settlement.