Rising Discontent and the Demand for Rights in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir

There's a growing storm brewing just across the Line of Control, one that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves. Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), long portrayed by Islamabad as a "disputed territory" awaiting resolution, is now increasingly becoming a region in crisis — a crisis born not from the so-called conflict with India, but from within. What we are witnessing is not merely frustration; it is a deep-rooted discontent, a boiling over of decades of neglect, economic exploitation, and denial of basic democratic rights. People in PoK are now openly questioning the legitimacy of Pakistani control and, in many areas, voices demanding independence or integration with India are being whispered — and sometimes shouted — with surprising boldness.

- SYED JAHANZEEB

It didn't happen overnight. For decades, Pakistan treated PoK as a strategic asset rather than a region with its own identity, aspirations, and rights. While Islamabad spoke grandly about Kashmir at global forums, it systematically denied those very freedoms and opportunities to the people living in the territory it controls. Unlike Pakistan's other provinces, PoK does not have the same constitutional rights. There's a puppet government installed there, but real power rests with bureaucrats and military handlers in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. This duality — where a region is spoken for but not listened to — has created a yawning gap between the people of PoK and the state that claims to represent them.

What has particularly irked the locals is the visible and growing exploitation of their natural resources — especially water, forests, and minerals — without corresponding development or economic benefits. The hydroelectric projects built on the Neelum and Jhelum rivers have been celebrated in Pakistan’s energy circles, yet the electricity generated from these dams seldom lights homes in PoK itself. Entire towns face power outages for hours, while their resources fuel cities hundreds of kilometers away. This kind of resource extraction — where the region's wealth is used to develop Punjab or Sindh while the local population remains poor and under-served — has created a feeling of being colonized rather than governed.