Internet access is severely restricted in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, according to local sources. Mobile data and broadband services were suspended in the territory when protests for electoral reform erupted in early June. The partial internet blackout has continued since June 5, said NetBlocks, an independent observer that monitors internet shutdowns.
In response to the unrest, staggered elections were held over three rounds, with the final phase taking place on August 10. However, the continuation of the partial internet shutdown disrupts everyday life despite the formation of the new government.
Access to websites and apps used for online banking remains unavailable, affecting business activity across the region. The shutdown has also disrupted the academic year for students, with the government postponing entrance exams.
The unrest began in the lead-up to local elections scheduled for July 27. It was primarily triggered by a conflict over electoral reforms and political representation in the lead-up to the regional general elections.
Although Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) is legally autonomous, it is heavily controlled by Pakistan, with exceedingly limited local governance. Its security, judiciary, and policy matters are shaped by Pakistan.
POK's legislative assembly is made up of 45 seats in total, including 12 reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir who live in other parts of Pakistan. The core political trigger was a demand by local civil rights groups to abolish those 12 legislative seats.
Local activists, organized under the grassroots umbrella group Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), argued that these seats allow mainstream Pakistani political parties and the military establishment to manipulate local elections. Because voters for these 12 seats do not live in the territory, locals argued they granted disproportionate external influence over who governs Kashmir.
Tensions reached a boiling point after Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld the constitutional status of these seats. Instead of negotiating, Pakistan's authorities took a hardline stance. On June 5, 2026, the government banned the JKJAAC under anti-terrorism laws. Authorities then cut off mobile data and broadband internet services across the region. This communication blackout and the arrest of protest leaders fueled public outrage, turning a localized political debate into a massive regional revolt.
The unrest peaked when the regional elections began in three staggered phases starting July 27. Security forces used lethal force to halt thousands of protesters marching near towns like Rawalakot and Kotli. Local reports estimate that over 80 people were killed, including several law enforcement personnel, with hundreds more injured or detained.
Voting did not take place in certain protest strongholds. The government was formed based on the election results from the rest of the region.
While the July unrest was explicitly political, it built upon months of simmering economic anger. Earlier in the year, the region had already been rocked by massive protests regarding soaring inflation, high electricity tariffs, and food shortages. Though the government briefly offered subsidies to quiet those protests, the underlying frustration quickly shifted into a broader campaign against external governance and a lack of actual autonomy for the people of Kashmir.
The occupation of Kashmir by Pakistan dates to the Partition of British India into Pakistan and India in 1947. Kashmir has been a part of Indian civilization as far back as recorded history. Kashmiri Pandits, who are Hindu, are the indigenous native people of Kashmir.
However, since the partition, Pakistan has illegally occupied a portion of Kashmir, known as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) and the Northern Areas.
In 1947, the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir became part of the Republic of India. Shortly thereafter, Pakistani armed forces and Pashtun tribesmen invaded the area, forcing the largest Kashmiri political party to approve the accession.
In 1948, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 47, which required all Pakistani military personnel to be withdrawn from the region before a plebiscite — which would have confirmed the people’s wishes to join India — was held.
Instead, Pakistan increased its military presence, and no plebiscite was held. In the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), the raids by Pashtun tribesmen backed by Pakistan's military resulted in the complete displacement or elimination of the local Hindu and Sikh populations, turning them into refugees.
Since then, Kashmiri people under Pakistani rule have faced severe suppression, political censorship, and systemic resource exploitation.
Local rivers, such as the Kishanganga (known as the Neelum River in Pakistan), have water diverted to other parts of Pakistan. This leaves local areas short of water. Dams in the region generate electricity, but local residents face high power costs and shortages.
According to the "Country Report: Pakistan-administered Kashmir 2025" by the organization Genocide Watch:
Human rights abuses in Pakistani Kashmir include restrictions on political freedoms, suppression of independence movements, and systemic discrimination against religious minorities. Authorities suppress political parties and activists advocating for self-determination or greater autonomy, particularly in Gilgit [the Northern Areas], where anti-terror laws are often misused to target critics. Dissent is met with repression, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. Security forces, including intelligence agencies, target activists, journalists, and human rights defenders who criticize Pakistan’s policies or advocate for greater autonomy.
Religious minorities, especially Ahmadis and Shia Muslims, face targeted violence, sectarian discrimination, and state-backed enforcement of blasphemy laws. Ahmadis are criminalized under anti-Ahmadiyya laws, leading to systematic harassment, arrests and attacks on their communities.
Land dispossession is a significant issue, particularly in Gilgit [the Northern Areas], where Pakistani authorities and private entities have been accused of illegally acquiring land for infrastructure projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, displacing indigenous communities without adequate compensation, causing unrest and anger among the local population.
Freedom of speech and assembly is heavily restricted. The media faces stringent state controls, and journalists are forced into self-censorship due to state pressure. The Azad [POK] interim constitution explicitly prohibits dissent against the ideology of accession to Pakistan, effectively silencing independent voices. Journalists and activists critical of Pakistan’s policies or those documenting human rights abuses face threats, censorship, and imprisonment.
The UN and human rights organizations have expressed concern over the region’s human rights situation, including Kashmir’s right to self-determination and the continuing conflict between Pakistan and India. At the 55th UNHRC Session in 2024, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UNKPNP) urged global action. Meanwhile, Pakistan maintains tight control over the territories, stifling reform.
According to Genocide Watch, "genocide is a process that develops in ten stages that are predictable but not inexorable. At each stage, preventive measures can stop it. The process is not linear. Stages occur simultaneously. Each stage is itself a process…. Classification is at the center. Without it the processes around it could not occur. As societies develop more and more genocidal processes, they get nearer to genocide. But all stages continue to operate throughout the process."
These stages are classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, and denial.
Genocide Watch concluded that it categorized Pakistan-occupied Kashmir at Stage 3 (Discrimination) due to marginalization of religious minorities. Stage 5 (Organization) due to laws that suppress minorities and the opposition. The systematic targeting of minorities, activists, journalists, and human rights defenders is an indicator of Stage 8 (Persecution).
Hence, widespread protests in POK have broken out over lack of basic rights, administrative oppression, and high living costs. Pakistan's security forces have responded with police brutality, internet blackouts, and live fire against unarmed demonstrators, leading to civilian deaths and injuries. International bodies have called on Islamabad to be held accountable for these abuses.
Yet Pakistan continues to respond with prolonged internet blackouts. What mechanisms or recourse remain for an occupied population when the governing authority suppresses political advocacy and rejects peaceful demonstrations?
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