MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir (PaJK) remained gripped by political unrest and security tensions, as continuing protests, the killing of a six-year-old boy in Bagh and disagreements over constitutional powers overshadowed official commemorations marking the region’s disputed history.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has spearheaded months of protests demanding economic relief, political accountability and greater control over local resources, continued its agitation across several districts as part of a protest week scheduled to culminate on November 1.
Sit-ins and demonstrations continued in Rawalakot, southern Bagh and other parts of the region, with protest organisers alleging that security forces were using intimidation and excessive force to suppress their movement.
The latest developments have exposed a widening divide between the administration and sections of the population. While the government has appealed for political unity over the Kashmir dispute, protest leaders have questioned its own record on civil liberties and the treatment of demonstrators.
The unrest has also highlighted the growing difficulty of restoring normal economic activity in towns where prolonged shutdowns, security restrictions and political uncertainty have disrupted daily life.
The most disturbing development came from southern Bagh, where six-year-old Shayan Azhar was killed in firing near the Khalabat police post on October 25. Reports also indicated that another civilian was injured.
The child's death has intensified anger among protesters and raised questions about the conduct of security operations in areas witnessing sustained demonstrations.
Abid Shaheen, a core member of the Joint Awami Action Committee, alleged that security personnel had been firing at unarmed protesters since the morning and that the child was killed during the operation.
He said the injured civilian was shifted to Darik in Rawalakot for medical treatment.
The district administration, however, offered a sharply different account.
Bagh Deputy Commissioner Mumtaz Kazmi maintained that approximately 100 armed individuals were present in the forest near Chitra Topi and had opened fire on a police post.
According to the administration's version, the bullet that killed the child came from the direction of the forest, away from the police post.
The competing accounts could not be independently verified. Neither side has publicly established the origin of the fatal bullet through independently verifiable forensic evidence.
The incident has nevertheless intensified demands for an impartial investigation, particularly as residents report an increase in firing incidents between Rawalakot and Bagh.
The JAAC began its southern Bagh sit-in on October 4, extending a protest movement that has continued in different forms since June.
Protest-linked social media accounts have circulated videos and allegations of heavy security deployments, warning shots and firing near civilian gatherings. Some accounts have shown demonstrators carrying white flags.
However, the dates and locations of individual videos, as well as allegations concerning the use of weapons, remain difficult to verify independently.
The administration has maintained that armed elements are operating in some protest-affected areas, while the action committee insists its movement is principally a civilian campaign for political and economic rights.
The conflicting claims have added urgency to demands for independent scrutiny of security operations and civilian casualties.
Rawalakot Traders Struggle to Reopen
Meanwhile, efforts to restore commercial activity in Rawalakot have met with limited success despite an announcement by a section of traders that they would reopen businesses after nearly four months of disruption.
On October 23, a group of traders marched from Nala Bazaar to Kacheri Chowk before announcing that they would resume commercial operations under guidelines prescribed by the administration.
The traders declared that they would no longer close their establishments in response to calls from political movements, committees or other groups.
They argued that prolonged shutdowns had devastated household incomes, pushed families into financial hardship and made it increasingly difficult for shopkeepers to meet basic expenses.
At the conclusion of the gathering, traders symbolically raised their shop shutters to mark the resumption of business.
Yet the announcement failed to produce a substantial reopening. According to local accounts, only about a dozen shops resumed operations.
JAAC leaders opposed reopening businesses under conditions imposed by the administration.
They urged traders to demand accountability for alleged looting and damage in the city before accepting government conditions.
The dispute has placed local businesses in a difficult position. Many traders want to resume earning a livelihood, but the political movement remains deeply suspicious of arrangements negotiated under administrative pressure.
The limited reopening also suggests that the government has yet to restore sufficient confidence for commercial life to return to normal.
For many families, the prolonged shutdown has created a crisis extending beyond political disagreements. Traders face mounting losses, workers have lost income, and uncertainty continues to affect the local economy.
The political divide became particularly visible on October 27, when the region observed Kashmir Black Day, commemorating the arrival of Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.
Official functions in Muzaffarabad focused on Indian rule in Kashmir, the right to self-determination and appeals for international intervention.
However, JAAC leaders used the occasion to draw attention to developments within Pakistan-administered Kashmir itself.
Addressing a gathering at Umar Farooq Chowk in Rawalakot, JAAC leader Sardar Umar Nazir accused Pakistani security forces of using methods similar to those employed by Indian authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir.
He alleged that since June 5, demonstrators in PaJK had faced firing, arrests and restrictions for demanding their rights.
Nazir drew parallels between the suppression of political dissent in the two parts of Kashmir, arguing that people demanding fundamental rights should not face coercion regardless of which administration governs them.
He also made the controversial allegation that Pakistan's establishment, along with external powers, had played a role in the circumstances surrounding India's August 5, 2019, decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status.
No supporting evidence was presented for that allegation in the available material.
The remarks reflected an increasingly confrontational position among sections of the protest leadership, which has begun challenging not only local administrative decisions but also the wider political relationship between Islamabad and Muzaffarabad.
The committee's own declaration, issued in Rawalakot on September 28, had already accused the authorities of failing to honour earlier agreements and demanded an end to the crackdown on civilians.
The contrast on October 27 was striking. While the government organised rallies condemning India's conduct in Kashmir, demonstrators in Rawalakot were questioning the treatment of Kashmiris under Pakistan's administration.
Government Calls for Unity
Prime Minister Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, addressing an official Kashmir Black Day gathering in Muzaffarabad, described October 27, 1947, as a dark chapter in Kashmir's history.
He accused India of attempting to change the demographic composition of Indian-administered Kashmir following the constitutional changes of August 2019.
Gillani urged the United Nations to implement its resolutions on Kashmir and called for political differences within Pakistan and PaJK to be set aside in support of the Kashmir cause.
He maintained that internal disagreements should not weaken the broader movement for self-determination.
President Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan similarly appealed to the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the international community to intervene over alleged human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir.
An official rally organised by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Cell brought together ministers, political leaders, students, officials and representatives of refugee communities.
The government's position also featured prominently during celebrations marking the 79th anniversary of the establishment of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government on October 24.
At the main ceremony in Muzaffarabad, President Naqi and Prime Minister Gillani participated in flag-hoisting and other official functions.
Naqi described the establishment of the government on October 24, 1947, as a milestone in the struggle for freedom, dignity and self-determination.
He also identified education, healthcare, employment, infrastructure, tourism, environmental protection and equal access to justice as priorities for his administration.
Yet the official emphasis on development and public welfare contrasted with continuing demonstrations demanding precisely these basic services.
At a sit-in in southern Bagh, JAAC leaders Amjad Latif, Imran Sajaq, Imtiaz Rahmat and Azhar Rasheed reiterated that their movement sought affordable electricity and flour, education, healthcare, clean drinking water and better roads.
According to the local outlet Kashgil News, they said their struggle was not intended to secure political office or a share in government but to ensure that residents received fundamental public services.
Constitutional Amendment
Alongside the street protests, political uncertainty has intensified over a proposed 16th amendment to the region's Interim Constitution Act of 1974.
The proposed amendment has become a source of concern among political leaders who fear that constitutional changes could affect powers currently exercised by the elected government in Muzaffarabad.
The Pakistan Peoples Party has reportedly established a three-member committee headed by Chaudhry Yasin to examine the proposal.
The committee also includes Faisal Rathore and Mian Waheed.
However, the complete draft of the proposed amendment has not been made publicly available, leaving its precise provisions and potential constitutional implications unclear.
Former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider has reaffirmed his commitment to the 13th Constitutional Amendment, which remains central to the debate over the distribution of powers between Islamabad and Muzaffarabad.
Haider has indicated that he would continue defending the 13th Amendment even if his political party or the present government adopted a different position.
The issue has already brought political leaders from different parties together.
On October 13, representatives of major political parties met President Naqi in Islamabad to discuss the Poonch crisis and constitutional questions. They expressed concern over any move that could dilute the region's autonomy.
The discussions also addressed the restoration of essential supplies and internet services in protest-affected areas.
The constitutional debate has therefore developed alongside the protest movement, raising a wider question about how much authority elected institutions in Muzaffarabad exercise over decisions affecting the territory.
Cabinet Approves Development Measures
Amid the unrest, the regional cabinet met under Prime Minister Gillani on October 26 and considered a 19-point agenda.
Among the decisions announced were the establishment of special courts for overseas Kashmiris and gemstone excellence centres intended to support mineral identification, processing, research, marketing and vocational training.
The cabinet also approved allocating two percent of the budget to sports activities, financial assistance to address pension issues affecting local government employees, and the administrative merger of the State Disaster Management Authority with the State Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.
The meeting adopted a resolution calling on the United Nations and permanent members of the Security Council to press India over human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir.
It also expressed support for Pakistan's security and stability and confidence in the regional prime minister's leadership.
However, the cabinet's decisions did not announce a settlement of the central disputes driving the JAAC protests.
The movement continues to demand implementation of earlier agreements, accountability for alleged killings and an end to coercive measures against demonstrators.
By October 28, protest-linked accounts continued to report gatherings and sit-ins in southern Bagh and Rawalakot.
The accounts alleged that security deployments and pressure on demonstrators were continuing, although the scale of operations and the circumstances of reported confrontations could not be independently established.
The agitation has also generated tensions among overseas Kashmiris.
Reports circulated of scuffles outside the Pakistani Consulate in Birmingham, where demonstrators protesting conditions in PaJK reportedly confronted supporters of Pakistan. The circumstances of the confrontation remain unverified.
The JAAC has announced that its protest campaign will continue towards November 1, designated by organisers as a day of remembrance for people killed, injured or reported missing during the unrest.
The movement's broader grievances include electricity pricing, subsidised wheat flour, governance reforms and opposition to the 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees settled in Pakistan.
These demands have been at the centre of earlier confrontations between the government and protesters. Independent reporting has also documented serious casualties and restrictions during the months-long unrest.
The latest developments suggest that neither the government's appeals for normalcy nor the limited reopening of markets has resolved the underlying political confrontation.
The killing of Shayan Azhar has introduced another urgent demand: an independent investigation capable of establishing responsibility for civilian deaths.
The proposed constitutional amendment, meanwhile, has brought the question of political autonomy back into focus at a time when public confidence in the administration remains strained.
For residents of Rawalakot, Bagh and surrounding areas, the immediate concerns are more basic: personal safety, access to essential supplies, reopening businesses and the restoration of ordinary life.
As the protest movement approaches its November 1 programme, the administration faces a difficult choice between continued security enforcement and negotiations addressing the grievances that have sustained the agitation since June.
The central challenge is no longer simply to reopen markets or disperse demonstrators. It is to restore public confidence in institutions whose authority is increasingly being questioned by the people they govern.
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