By Haris Qadeer, former JKNSF Central Spokesperson
This article was first published in Jeddojehad.
Pakistan administered Jammu Kashmir has remained under a shutter down and wheel jam strike since 9th June, following the call of the Joint Awami Action Committee. Although the protest movement has spread across the entire region, its most visible and intense expression is in the Poonch Division. Around the divisional headquarters of Rawalakot, thousands of people are maintaining protest sit-ins on all sides of the city. Most small and large towns in the Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions are under the control of the security forces, but the situation in Poonch Division is markedly different. Here, the parallel authority of the state and the people’s committees is clearly visible on the streets. Sudhnoti District is entirely under the administration of the people’s committees, while most tehsil headquarters, towns, marketplaces, and major highways in Poonch are effectively under their control. Rawalakot city itself, however, remains under the control of the security forces.
The shutter down and transport strike in Rawalakot has continued since 6 June. During the night between 7th and 8th June, security forces regained control of the city after a large-scale and deadly operation, and a curfew was imposed immediately afterward. Since then, the city’s defining features have become the constant flag marches of security vehicles with sirens blaring, checkpoints at every major intersection, armed personnel stationed throughout the city, and routine searches at numerous locations. This is the same city that has long been regarded as a symbol of resistance, political consciousness, and popular struggle.
Over the past month, the punitive measures taken against those participating in the protests have been unprecedented in the region’s recent history. Security forces have raided the homes of protest leaders, vandalized private property and vehicles, damaged offices, confiscated property, frozen bank accounts, blocked mobile phone numbers, and even harassed family members in an apparent effort to pressure movement leaders into surrendering. These measures continue to this day.
Internet services, which were suspended on 5th June, have still not been restored. Mobile phone coverage in Rawalakot has also been severely restricted. Contacting people at the protest sites has become nearly impossible. Despite these limitations, protesters have found ways to overcome the restrictions. With very limited resources, they continue to access the internet through whatever means are available and share videos, photographs, and written accounts with the outside world.
Rawalakot appears to have been singled out for particularly severe repression. At police checkpoints, people are stopped regardless of their age, their mobile phones are searched, and if officers find photographs or videos related to protests, public gatherings, or political activity, or even suspect sympathy for the movement, the individual may be arrested. Numerous people have reportedly been beaten on the streets before being taken into police custody.
Gradually, all of the city’s entrances and connecting roads have come under the control of the security forces. Movement within the city has become almost completely paralyzed. Much of Rawalakot’s population has relocated to villages or other towns, those who cannot leave continue to live under constant fear. Nights are spent awake, with every knock at the door bringing the fear that another raid is about to take place or that a nearby protest camp is about to come under attack.
The number of arrests has become so high that police lockups in several stations are no longer sufficient. Detainees are now being made to sit on the floors of police station verandas. Hundreds of young people, including minors, are being held in police stations across the district. In particular, numerous reports have emerged of detainees in Rawalakot Police Station being subjected to beatings, humiliation, and degrading treatment, and these reports indicate that such practices continue.
For perhaps the first time, the people of Rawalakot are seeing their city in this condition. A place once known for its vibrant public life, political activism, sporting events, and bustling streets now feels besieged, silent, and deserted. Many residents have begun to describe themselves as inhabitants of a conquered city.
Yet despite this extensive repression, the fear that the authorities sought to impose on society appears to be steadily losing its hold. Young people, men, and women alike have increasingly overcome that fear. Women walk for miles every day to reach the protest sit-ins. Young people continue to leave their homes and join demonstrations despite the risk of arrest or violence. After every government crackdown, the wider society appears to return to the ranks of resistance with even greater determination.
To protect the protest camps from possible attacks, volunteers maintain round-the-clock watches. Despite the loss of dozens of lives and the injury of hundreds of people, young protesters continue to stand unarmed before live fire and attempt to repel every assault. Their resistance has demonstrated that while force may wound bodies, it is far more difficult to break a collective political will.
Rawalakot, once known for its strikes, political rallies, packed sports grounds, and lively markets, now seems consumed by its own silence. Protest chants continue to echo in the surrounding areas, sit-ins remain active, and resistance persists, yet inside the city an eerie stillness has settled. Its streets are deserted, its roads are empty, and an unmistakable sense of heaviness hangs over the atmosphere.
It feels as though the entire city is living under a prolonged siege, one that extends beyond roads and checkpoints to encompass everyday life, the psychological well being of its residents, and their collective memory.