The anti-government movement in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is gaining momentum.

The anti-government movement in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is gaining momentum. Strikes and dharnas continue to intensify in all major cities, including Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Rawalakot. Following reports of 20 deaths (according to 39 protesters) on Monday and Tuesday due to violence and state repression, Pakistan-based human rights organisations have sent petitions to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking its intervention and a real picture of state repression. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva has also been approached.

Petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in this regard. It is a different matter that the Supreme Court's record has been against the rights of the people of PoK and not in favour of it. Similarly, the approach of the government of Prime Minister Azam Shehbaz Sharif has also been ambivalent. On the one hand, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has ruled out talks with the agitators, calling them "enemies like India", while on the other hand, Rana Sanaullah, Azam's Secret Adviser (and former Internal Security Minister), has been claiming that he is in constant touch with Kashmiri satyagrahis leaders.

He also said that the demands of the agitators are being seriously considered by the central government. Since the Pakistani media is barred from publishing events in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as well as the internet shutdown, the coverage of these incidents is often laggard. It is certain that the little information that is coming out through social media presents a picture of not being 'all good'.

The first phase of elections to the 53-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly concluded on Monday. The results of the 15 seats were also announced on the same night, according to which 10 seats were won by Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), its ally in the central government, won four seats. The contest in the elections is, in fact, between these two parties as Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party (PTI) has boycotted these elections. The next two rounds of voting will be held in the first and second week of August.

Voting for national elections in Pakistan is held on the same day. This is for the first time that the assembly elections in PoK are being held in three phases due to "security reasons". Since the Joint Awami National Committee (JAAC), which spearheads the movement for Kashmiris' demands and rights, has also opted for a boycott of the elections, only 32 per cent of the votes were cast in the first phase. The top leadership of the JAAC is currently under house arrest. Despite this, the continuation of the cycle of strikes and dharnas is seen as a sign of deepening dissatisfaction with the Pakistani government.

In this case, on the one hand, the JAAC While the leaders of the RSS are appealing for help from the Indian government and the people of Indian Kashmir, the political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir have also started opening their mouths on the issue. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday called the elections in PoK a "hypocrisy" and said that that part of Kashmir is also Indian territory and the elections there have no international significance. The Indian spokesperson did not think it appropriate to go beyond this kind of rhetoric.

That is why Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief and former chief minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah has strongly condemned such a stance. He says that if the Indian government considers PoK as a part of India, then it should stand with the people there. His question is also valid that the government repression in PoK has been going on for a month, but why has the Prime Minister or the External Affairs Minister been silent on it? Dr. Apart from Abdullah, the Kashmiri CPI(M) Leader Yusuf Trigami and some other leaders have also raised similar questions with the Indian government. They deserve answers to these questions. The Indian government cannot say that the repression of Kashmiris in PoK is an internal matter of Pakistan. He should take a clear stand.