Pakistan-administered Kashmir Under an İnternet Blackout and Calls for a Boycott, Marking the Region's Worst Political Crisis in Years

The second of three voting phases took place on Sunday amid shutdowns in Muzaffarabad and elsewhere, with the final round set for August 10. The protests, led by the banned Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), demand electoral reforms and more economic concessions. The epicenter is Rawalakot in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), which has its own legislature but is not a full province due to the Kashmir dispute with India. Local estimates say the death toll has surpassed 50, including seven security personnel, though no official figures exist; protest leaders claim over 60 civilians have died in less than two months.

A partial internet blackout has been in place since June 5, according to NetBlocks. The government says the movement threatens public order. On Friday, Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan's army spokesman, accused India of fomenting unrest, a charge New Delhi rejected, and said the state alone has the right to use force.

The protests began in June after talks between JAAC and the government collapsed over demands to abolish 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees who migrated to Pakistan after 1947. JAAC argues these seats let Pakistan-based parties influence AJK's government and divert development funds. Authorities designated JAAC a proscribed organization on June 5, suspended internet and mobile services, and advised nonresidents to leave. The AJK Supreme Court ruled on June 7 that the seats are constitutionally protected.

Clashes erupted on June 8 in Rawalakot, killing 11, and a general strike followed. The death toll crossed 20 by mid-June. On July 21, the election commission announced a revised three-phase schedule: July 27 in Mirpur, August 2 in Muzaffarabad and for the refugee seats, and August 10 in Poonch.

The first phase favored Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's PML-N, while thousands joined a JAAC march toward Muzaffarabad. "Kashmiris hold a special place in Pakistan’s heart"