PoK heads to the polls amid weeks of deadly clashes and political unrest: what to expect

Elections to the so-called legislative assembly in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) begin on Monday amid tight security and continuing political unrest. The three-phase vote comes after weeks of violent clashes that left several dead and hundreds injured. Voting for the 45 directly elected seats out of the 53-member assembly will take place in three phases, ending on August 10. The first phase covers 13 constituencies of Mirpur division on Monday. This will be followed by polling in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and all 12 refugee constituencies on August 2, with the remaining 11 constituencies of Poonch division voting on August 10. Ahead of the poll, Pakistan’s Punjab province deployed 14,000 police officers to PoK to ensure election security. “Among them, 30 percent carry weapons and 70 percent are equipped with riot gear,” the official added. The election schedule was announced by PoK Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal earlier this month. Of the total seats, 12 are reserved for refugees settled in PoK after 1947. Meanwhile, the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on June 7.

Protests, crackdown and rights concerns cast shadow over Jaac

The elections are taking place against a backdrop of continuing unrest in the region. The Awami Joint Action Committee (JAAC) led protests for almost two months, demanding, among other things, the removal of the 12 refugee seats. The protests degenerated into violent clashes with security forces, with Pakistani authorities reporting casualties among protesters and security personnel. Following the unrest, the regional government banned Jaac under anti-terrorism legislation and authorities arrested more than 100 people before and after the clashes, according to PTI. (HRCP) said it was “deeply alarmed” by the violence in PoK, where 11 people, including four police officers, were killed and hundreds more injured in clashes. The unrest has also attracted international attention, with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing concern over the “wave of unrest”. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for calm and said “dozens of people, mostly protesters but also law enforcement, have reportedly been killed since June.” India has reiterated its long-standing position on the region. On July 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the protests in PoK as a “direct consequence” of Islamabad’s decades-long “systemic exploitation and administrative oppression” in areas under its “forced” occupation. New Delhi also criticized reported police brutality against protesters. India has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including areas under Pakistan’s control, are “integral and inalienable parts of India” and that Pakistan remains in “illegal and forcible occupation” of parts of these Union Territories. “If there are any negotiations, it will be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), a part of India that it has illegally occupied,” he said. Singh also accused Pakistan of making terrorism “a part of its state policy” and said Operation Sindoor had shown that India could respond to any mishap with severity “beyond its imagination.”

The political battle intensifies

The elections are also taking place alongside political contestation in Pakistan. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz faces its coalition partner, the Pakistan People’s Party, in the PoK polls, while former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has boycotted the election. Separately, the Pakistani Punjab government denied permission to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to hold a rally in Lahore on August 5 to mark the third anniversary of Imran Khan’s imprisonment. The party said it would ask the court for permission to hold the event. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also expressed his desire to become PoK’s prime minister, saying it would allow him to “personally oversee” the region’s development.

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