Opinion | POJK’s Cry for Justice: The Unseen Pain Across the LoC

The voices rising from Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) are no longer whispers. They’re chants echoing through streets, calling for freedom, justice, and rightful integration with India. Viral videos from recent protests show locals fearlessly waving the Indian tricolor, not out of compulsion, but conviction. These images offer a glimpse into the everyday resistance of people who have endured decades of silence, abuse, and neglect.

Among today’s many global concerns, the situation in POJK remains largely ignored. The people there live under a system that thrives on fear, censorship, and exploitation. In earlier pieces, I detailed how Pakistan invaded this part of Jammu and Kashmir during the 1947–48 war. When Pakistani tribal forces, backed by the military, attacked the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh had no choice but to sign the Instrument of Accession with India. Though Indian forces pushed back, the United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 1949 left a portion of our land in Pakistan’s control, a region we now refer to as POJK. What followed has been a long chapter of occupation, repression, and neglect. The last five years have changed the face of Kashmir. Pakistan’s plans to destabilize the valley through terror have failed miserably. Where the 1990s saw militancy nearly turn Kashmir into a warzone, today’s situation is visibly more stable. Credit goes to both policy changes in New Delhi and the brave work of Indian security forces. But while Kashmir moves towards peace, POJK continues to suffer under the weight of Pakistan’s authoritarian control. The land is exploited for its strategic location and resources, and its people are treated as afterthoughts.

Take Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (POGB), for example. Rich in natural beauty and resources, it’s also home to the mighty K2 and massive freshwater glaciers. It shares Pakistan’s only land link with China, a route Islamabad has heavily invested in through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). But for locals, this so-called “development” has brought only land seizures, displacement, and military oversight. Last year, people across POJK rose in protest against unfair taxes. Instead of hearing them out, Pakistan responded with brute force, mass arrests, beatings, and even killings. It’s not a new tactic. Pakistan’s handling of dissent in POJK has always been harsh. Human rights activist Arif Shahid was assassinated in 2013, and his murder is still unresolved. Groups like the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) face threats, torture, and arrests. Students like Ali Shamraiz and Raja Noman Asif were beaten for simply speaking up. Ehsan Ali Advocate was arrested by Punjab Police on his way to a human rights seminar in Islamabad, a shocking move that drew widespread outrage. And then there’s the chilling case of Mohammad Khalid Khurshid Khan, a former Chief Minister of POGB, sentenced to 34 years by a local court under anti-terror laws. His crime? Political dissent. If this is the fate of someone in high office, what hope remains for ordinary citizens?

Recent protests in POJK have shaken the illusion that people there are loyal to Pakistan. Many now demand to join India, not out of political manipulation, but because they see India as a functioning democracy where rights, still exist. Meanwhile, Islamabad continues to exploit POJK’s resources, leaving locals poor, uneducated, and under constant military surveillance. The global community cannot afford to stay silent. POJK isn’t just a disputed land, it’s home to real people whose lives are being crushed in the name of politics. They deserve dignity, opportunity, and above all, freedom.

Conclusion

This article isn’t just another commentary, it’s my small act of resistance. While I cannot be on the streets of Muzaffarabad or Skardu, I can still write, and I will continue to so. As a Kashmiri, I’ve witnessed how Pakistan used terror to break our land and spirit, and I see the same pattern being repeated in POJK. It’s time the world listens to those voices behind the mountains, the ones asking for what should have always been theirs — peace, respect, and the right to live freely.

The writer is a student activist and can be reached at soulofkashmir1@gmail.com.