The Tragedy Of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir – OpEd

While it is inappropriate to laugh at someone’s misfortune, Islamabad’s puerile antics to showcase the impoverished Pakistan occupied Kashmir [PoK] region as Utopia compels one to do so. This is evident from the fact that despite using strong arms tactics, law enforcement agencies haven’t been able to prevent the hapless people of PoK from protesting against the non-availability of essential commodities, and most importantly, brazen discrimination.

In spite of imposing a media blackout on the ongoing unrest in PoK, social media is abuzz with videos of angry protesters denouncing Islamabad’s step motherly treatment of PoK as well as heartrending visuals of people scrambling to get hold of a bag of flour. Despite this sorry state of affairs, things suddenly seemed to change on February 5, when the Pakistani media descended on PoK and bombarded the audio-visual spectrum with its coverage of what Islamabad calls ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’.

What the world saw on February 5 weren’t desperate crowds complaining about the unprecedented price hike, non-availability of basic commodities, or protesting against the total collapse of essential services. Instead, while what appeared to be apparently prosperous congregations were seen singing praises for Pakistan, an array of speakers vehemently denounced New Delhi for what they claimed was denial of basic rights of the people of J&K.

Unfortunately for Islamabad, its massive ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ public relations exercise impressed no one, and this was expected all along. Afterall, how can one expect a patently choreographed one-day media campaign to conceal 364 days of deprivation that residents of PoK endure every year? In fact, by naming PoK as ‘Azad’ [independent] Kashmir, Pakistan has played a cruel joke on its residents -and the harsh reality that  PoK is anything but ‘independent’ is well known to the entire international community!

In its 2006 annual report on PoK, Human Rights Watch [HRW] has highlighted the fundamental contradiction in Islamabad’s duplicitous Kashmir narrative. The report states, “Successive Pakistani governments have asserted that Kashmir’s political future must be determined in accordance with the wishes of its people. Yet its own constitutional provisions preclude all political choices to Kashmiris except to support its accession to Pakistan.”[Emphasis added].

However, freedom of expression isn’t the only problem bedevilling the people of PoK. They are also victims of institutionalised discrimination, which is more than evident from the glaring lack of basic infrastructure and essential amenities, especially when compared with facilities in J&K. A few examples:

• Airports. J&K has four airports, while PoK has only two.
• Railway. Functional in J&K but non-existent in PoK
• Universities. J&K has 35, while PoK has just six.
• Medical Colleges. J&K has nine government and one private medical college in comparison to only three in PoK.
• Government Hospitals. J&K has 2812 hospitals providing free medical care, while PoK has only 23.
• Per Capita Budget. J&K gets nearly five times more funds than PoK.
• Infrastructure Development Expenditure [2019]. J&K Rs 6724 crores; PoK just Rs 1028 crores.
• Per Capita Income. USD1200 in J&K and only USD 525 in PoK.

PoK’s tragedy is that despite having an elected president, prime minister and legislative assembly, it’s the ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council’ under Pakistan’s prime minister which is the final authority on all matters concerning PoK. So, since the real decision makers aren’t elected by the people of PoK, they obviously have no accountability for their actions, and this explains why PoK gets a shabby and step-motherly treatment.

To make matters worse, the Pakistan army in PoK continues to behave like an occupation force and just one incident cited by Human Rights Watch [HRW] in its 2006 annual report endorses the same. It mentions that “In the first seventy-two hours after the [2005] earthquake, thousands of Pakistani troops stationed in Azad Kashmir [PoK] prioritized the evacuation of their own personnel over providing relief to desperate civilians.”It further states that the international media even“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.” [Emphasis added]. 

Lack of accountability has led to unabashed highhandedness by the army and other paramilitaries, intelligence and law enforcing agencies under its command, thereby facilitating complete subjugation of PoK residents. This is evident from the 2006 HRW report which states 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.” [Emphasis added].

So, despite all the emotional rhetoric and theatrics that one sees and hears every year during the Kashmir Solidarity Day charade, there are no takers for Islamabad’s incredulous Kashmir narrative, and this is not due to abject apathy [as alleged by Islamabad] but by the draconian section 7 [3] of PoK constitution which prohibits any activity that is “prejudicial or detrimental to, the ideology of the State’s accession to Pakistan.”

Tailpiece: Noted Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist Pervez Hoodbhoy has accurately summarised the situation in PoK by noting that “…By supporting jihadists and targeting nationalists, it [Pakistan] has alienated world public opinion-and the Kashmiris. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Kashmir has turned into a dead cause. For this, Pakistan’s military and civil establishment can have no one but themselves to blame.”  [Emphasis added].