- PoK leaders declared region ‘Occupied Territory,’ challenging Pakistan’s narrative.
- Pakistani Rangers killed eight protesters amid ongoing anti-government uprising.
- Protesters plan Muzaffarabad march, demanding full self-governance.
Dismantling Pakistan’s decades-old narrative, protest leaders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have declared that the region, which is called Azad Kashmir by Pakistan, is not a “Disputed Territory” but an “Occupied Territory” under forced occupation. This massive public rebellion comes just 24 hours before a scheduled historic march to Muzaffarabad, drawing hundreds of thousands of local residents.
Deadly Crackdown On 36th Day Of Uprising
Tensions reached a boiling point on the 36th day of the anti-government uprising. In a desperate attempt to stop the demonstrators from advancing toward Muzaffarabad, Pakistani Rangers opened fire on crowds in the Sudhanoti and Rawalakot districts. Eight protesters were killed and 11 others sustained serious injuries during the clashes. With today’s casualties, the total number of fatalities over the last 36 days of demonstrations has risen to 73.
Pakistan’s Narrative Challenged At Eidgah Ground
Despite the violence, a massive crowd, heavily represented by women, gathered at the Eidgah Ground in Rawalakot to protest against the Pakistani occupation.
Addressing a crowd of nearly 70,000 people, Sardar Aman Khan, one of the primary organisers of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), launched a scathing attack on Islamabad and said, “According to the UN Charter, PoK might be labeled a ‘Disputed Territory,’ but in reality, it is a ‘Makbooza Ilaka’—an Occupied Territory under brutal, forced occupation.”
Khan proclaimed this from the stage, directly challenging Pakistan’s 78-year-old state narrative, which has historically portrayed PoK as “Azad (Free) Kashmir” while describing Jammu and Kashmir in India as “Occupied (Makbooza).”
Khan explicitly told the crowd that only the people of PoK have the right to decide their own future. He also targeted the region’s “love for Pakistan” education system, advising schoolchildren that everything taught in their textbooks over the last eight decades is completely false. Jokingly, he said the only accurate thing in their syllabus is the geographical fact that hilly terrains are cold in winters and hot in summers.
March To Muzaffarabad
Huge influxes of people from the Poonch division have already started converging in Rawalakot ahead of the final showdown.
Commenting on the upcoming march to Muzaffarabad, Sardar Aman Khan made it clear that this struggle will not stop until total victory is achieved.
Addressing the upcoming PoK elections scheduled for July 27, Khan took a direct swipe at Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, and said, “Many people are running around with files outside the office of Brigadier Faiq (ISI Sector Commander for PoK). But let it be clear—the ISI will not run these elections. The public will vote, the public will choose, and only a government elected by the people will be accepted.”
Single Demand: Self-Governance
Warning the puppet administration in PoK, Khan stated that when the protesters march toward Muzaffarabad on July 15, they will not be carrying a long list of 38 demands. Instead, they will march with just one ultimatum: hand over the governance and responsibility of PoK entirely to its own people.
Co-organiser Umar Nazir has also echoed this sentiment for several weeks, confirming that the July 15 march is no longer about the initial 38 demands or the cancellation of police FIRs, but is fundamentally about the people of PoK taking absolute control of their own land and destiny.
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