Major protest in PoK against Shehbaz Sharif govt, internet shut, Pakistan deploys Rangers — what's happening?

A major protest erupted across Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. Internet and phone services were reportedly shut, with the United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) saying that there was a “digital blackout” in the region on Monday.

A UKPNP statement said the blackout coincided with a protest movement led by the Joint Awami Action Committee, which has called for a complete shutdown and wheel-jam strike on Monday.

What do protesters want?

The Awami Action Committee has reportedly been demanding the abolition of 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees from J&K.

Other demands of the AAC include subsidised flour, fairer power tariffs tied to the Mangla hydropower project, and implementation of long-delayed reforms promised by Islamabad, the Hindustan Times reported.

“Let it be clear once again: we are not running a campaign against any ideology or institution, but for the bona fide rights of our people that have been denied for over seven decades under one or the other pretext,” Shaukat Nawaz Mir, core member of the action committee, was quoted as saying by Dawn News.

Why are protests being held in PoK?

First, the 12 legislative seats for Kashmiri refugees have become a point of contention and were brought under the 13th Amendment (Act 2018) to Act 74. The locals believe that this “undermines representative governance”.

Meanwhile, the UKPNP claimed in its statement that protesters are demanding basic rights, economic justice, and an end to decades of political repression.

“Pakistan has deployed Rangers and additional paramilitary forces to suppress a legitimate, non-violent movement demanding basic rights and justice,” read the UKPNP's statement shared by its spokesperson, Sardar Nasir Aziz KHAN, on X.

The organisation said, “The people's rights movement under the banner of Joint Awami Action Committee has called for a complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on 29 September 2025, reflecting the growing frustration and unity of the people against state repression.”

“This digital blackout is a blatant attempt to silence dissent and isolate the people from the world during a critical moment of peaceful resistance,” the statement added.

'Tragic events of 13 May 2024'

The UKPNP expressed “deep sorrow” over "the tragic events of 13 May 2024, when Rangers opened fire on peaceful protesters in Muzaffarabad, killing three innocent civilians with impunity."

It said, “This act of brutality remains unpunished and is emblematic of the systemic violence faced by the people in the region.”

The party stressed that the people of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan continue to be “denied their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of movement, ownership of local resources, and the right to self-governance”.

In its appeal, the UKPNP called upon the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, China, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and other international actors to intervene immediately to prevent further violence.

Muzaffarabad May 13 violence

Massive protests broke out in PoK in May 2024, over soaring electricity bills and flour prices in a region that has long suffered economically because of its status as a conflict zone.

Mahmood Baig, a protester, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "We have been protesting from May 10. We have been out on the roads for the last ten months. We demand that the resources of [PoK] must be declared as Kashmiri rights [referring to a power plant project in Kashmir].

“The electricity which is produced using our water, it should be given to us at nominal prices and the water which flows towards Punjab, a subsidy must be given to us on the price of wheat. We will protest until our legal and moral rights are fulfilled. We will not step back,” he had said back then.