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| The Crisis of Leadership and Identity in POJK: A Historical Perspective | | 
By Sehrish Kashmiri and Fatima Baloch
The injustice, cruelty, and human rights violations committed by an occupying power inevitably create deep resentment among the people of an oppressed society. In such circumstances, a true and sincere leader guides the nation throughout its struggle for freedom with a clear ideology and vision, transforming state repression and brutality into a source of greater public resolve, unity, and resistance.
Rather than allowing oppression to weaken the movement, such a leader inspires people to stand against injustice and strengthens their commitment to the cause of liberation. A genuine leader never betrays the blood of martyrs, the suffering of comrades, or the sacrifices made by the nation. Instead, they remain steadfast in their principles, uphold the aspirations of their people, and continue guiding the struggle until the ultimate objective of freedom is achieved.
In Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), Pakistan has continued its killings and crackdown against Kashmiri protesters, with serious human rights violations persisting since the formation of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on September 17, 2023. This situation has been further aggravated due to the hypocrisy and cowardice of certain Kashmiri leaders and sections of society who have failed to identify the real causes behind the suffering of their people. Many Kashmiris, influenced by Pakistani narratives and propaganda, who have not studied the complete history of Kashmir, claim that Pakistan is far better than India because India allegedly martyred their children and that only Muslims living in Kashmir can be considered Kashmiris. However, Kashmir’s identity has historically included Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. The Kashmiri Pandits and Sikh communities have been an integral part of Kashmir’s social and cultural fabric and have lived across the region, including areas such as Gilgit and other parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. A substantial Hindu population—including ethnic Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu Dogras—historically lived in areas now known as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the 1941 census, tens of thousands of Hindus resided in areas such as Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber, Muzaffarabad, Poonch District- Bagh and Sadhnuti, which are now part of POJK. However, during the 1947 tribal invasion of Kashmir and the subsequent partition, these communities faced severe violence and displacement. Thousands were killed or forced to flee as refugees to India, resulting in the near-total disappearance of Hindu and Sikh populations from these territories. These Kashmiri Pandits and Sikh were also real Kashmiris and true son of soils. According to Islamic teachings, hypocrisy and injustice are condemned, and a nation that remains silent against oppression cannot achieve justice. The silence of prominent Kashmiri leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mehbooba Mufti, and Shabir Ahmad Shah, regarding the hardships faced by people in POJK is also a reflection of political hypocrisy. Meanwhile, leaders from the BJP and INC have raised their voices and expressed concerns over alleged human rights violations taking place in POJK.
In reality, Pakistan itself was responsible for pushing those people into conflict. Until 1980, Indian-administered Kashmir was largely a peaceful commercial and tourist region. After the Afghan Jihad, Pakistan encouraged Kashmiri militants to fight with the promise that, "You wage jihad, we are coming behind you with support," but later Pakistan repeatedly remained absent. India did not kill innocent Kashmiris; rather, it targeted militants who were part of Pakistan's proxy war strategy.
JAAC leadership and Kashmiris in POJK claim that they are running a peaceful movement, whereas peaceful movements have never succeeded in Pakistan. If peaceful movements had succeeded in Pakistan, then the Bengalis in 1971, PTI, TLP, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), and the Baloch nation would not have suffered such oppression and brutality, and their peaceful movements would have succeeded. Moreover, the Pakistani state itself has already turned the JAAC-led peaceful movement into a violent one. Pakistan has labeled the leaders of JAAC as RAW agents and terrorists, arrested and beaten them, banned the party, and unjustly martyred hundreds of Kashmiris during the peaceful public movement. Therefore, this so-called peaceful movement has now become a betrayal. If Kashmiris can, under Pakistan's misleading influence, wage a violent movement against India, the world's largest democracy, then why not against Pakistan?
This is the crucial time for Kashmiris to initiate a movement similar to those witnessed recently in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and to demonstrate the same level of sacrifice that has been shown by the Baloch nation. It is necessary for the Kashmiri nation to pursue such a movement; otherwise, the JAAC leadership may be accused of betraying the blood and sacrifices of their martyrs. Besides this, some Kashmiris become hopeless and discouraged, saying that there are traitors among us and that, therefore, a violent movement or our struggle for independence cannot succeed. Despair is a sin. Kashmiris should abandon fear and cowardice and study history. During 1970–71, the Pakistani state also created collaborators such as Al-Shams and the Razakars among the Bengali nation, who fought directly against the Bengali freedom fighters. Are there no traitors among the Baloch and Pashtun nations? Traitors exist in every national movement and every war of freedom. In addition, some Kashmiris on social media address the Baloch nation by saying, "Come, today we, the oppressed Kashmiris and Baloch, should unite and fight together against the oppressive rulers."
These Kashmiris should know that ever since Pakistan occupied Balochistan on 27 March 1948, from Prince Abdul Karim in 1948, Babu Nowroz Zehri in 1956, Khair Bakhsh Marri and Ataullah Mengal in 1973, to today's long and violent war that was started in 2003 by Martyr Akbar Bugti and Martyr Balach Marri, and the command of the national armed struggle shifted into the hands of Baloch youth, the Baloch nation has continuously fought against Pakistan and made sacrifices for its national freedom. The Baloch are a Kurdish-origin nation that was not part of British India. After the creation of Pakistan, Balochistan remained an independent country for nine months. The Parliament of Balochistan in the city of Kalat still exists. The people of POJK are only now awakening because Pakistan has begun oppressing the Kashmiris.
It is unfortunate that even today many Kashmiris consider Pakistan their sympathizer and friend. Some Kashmiris even consider Kashmir to be a part of Pakistan. All this is because Pakistan is an Islamic country. The truth is that Pakistan massacred its own Bengalis in 1971, while Balochistan has faced continuous oppression since 1948. Pakistan has always been an ally of the United States and NATO and has damaged the Pashtuns and Afghanistan. For dollars, it participated in the Yemen war and contributed to the destruction of Muslims in various regions.
Whereas Pakistan is also an opponent of Kashmiri interests. Pakistan handed over 15 percent, approximately 43,180 square kilometers, of the Kashmiri regions of Aksai Chin and Shaksgam to China. In other words, it further divided the land of Kashmir. The extent of the contradiction can be seen in the fact that Pakistan calls the part of Kashmir under its control "Azad Kashmir" and even has a Prime Minister there, but that Prime Minister is not allowed to visit other countries or meet the presidents and prime ministers of other nations. Azad Kashmir is not allowed to have its own foreign minister, independent army, currency, or even its own international cricket or football team. For 75 years, Pakistan has frightened Kashmiris by claiming that India will attack POJK and kill Kashmiris. For 75 years, Pakistan has claimed that it will liberate Kashmir from India and create an independent Kashmir. In other words, for 75 years, Pakistan has been frightening, exploiting, humiliating, and pressuring Kashmiris.
It is unfortunate that Kashmiris are unable to understand the real issue, and many fail to examine historical facts in order to identify the actual obstacles. After the establishment of Pakistan through the partition of British India on 14 August 1947, Jammu and Kashmir remained an independent state for approximately three months. The reality is that Pakistan's tribal forces, with the support of the Pakistani Army, attacked Kashmir on 22 October 1947 with the objective of annexing it to Pakistan, without the consent of the Kashmiri people or its ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh.
In response to this aggression, the angered Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with India on 28 October 1947 and requested military assistance from India to defend the state against the invading forces. The conflict continued, and the United Nations became involved in the Kashmir dispute. Under the United Nations resolutions, Pakistan was declared the aggressor, and as the first step, Pakistan was required to withdraw its armed forces and its citizens from the areas under its control. In the second stage, India was required to reduce its military presence to the minimum level necessary to maintain law and order. Finally, under appropriate international supervision, a plebiscite was proposed to determine the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
Even today, Pakistan is not prepared to implement the first step, which represents a major injustice and deception against the Kashmiris. Until Pakistan withdraws its forces from the areas under its control in accordance with the first step, the conditions outlined in the United Nations framework cannot be fully implemented. Consequently, the process established through the United Nations resolutions cannot move forward because Pakistan has yet to fulfill the initial requirement. Today, Kashmiris should free themselves from Pakistani lies, propaganda, and deception, carefully study history, and learn from it by observing how Pakistan treated the Bengali nation, the very people who created Pakistan, during 1970–71, and what it has been doing to the Baloch and Pashtun nations for decades.
Finally, we would say that today Kashmiris should carefully study history. What benefit did the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent gain from the creation of Pakistan? Muslims were divided repeatedly. The Kashmiri nation should read Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and what he said about Pakistan. Did the creation of Pakistan not weaken the Muslims of the subcontinent? If Pakistan did not spare the Bengalis who created it, then how will it show mercy to Kashmiris? Pakistan will inflict such oppression upon the Kashmiri nation that history may forget the suffering inflicted upon the Bengalis and the Baloch. Kashmiris remain unaware that the Bengalis, who created Pakistan, became so exhausted by oppression and tyranny that they were forced into a war for independence.
Therefore, demand freedom from Pakistan before Pakistan forces you, like the Bengalis and the Baloch, to demand independence. Along with Gilgit, Kashmir will either become a completely independent country or become part of India, because if two parties fight over a house or property, the owner is the one who possesses the legal papers and documents of that property. What legal documents does Pakistan have? While India claims to hold the legal documents and considers the entire Kashmir region an integral part of India according to its constitution.
Moreover, Kashmir has historically been part of the Indian subcontinent. Under the Two-Nation Theory, only two countries were to emerge from the partition of India: Pakistan and India. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession with India. Therefore, the people of POJK should stand united with the Kashmiris of Srinagar and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir. India supported the Bengalis against Pakistan’s oppression in 1971. If the Kashmiri nation demonstrates courage against Pakistan, India will not delay in supporting and protecting Its nationals; however, Kashmiris must first show determination and resilience like the Baloch. At the same time, India should avoid making hasty decisions and carefully assess developments on the ground. It should ensure that anti-Pakistan sentiments genuinely develop among the people of POJK and that, if people are forced to migrate to India, similar to the situation faced by Bengalis in 1970–71, India should adopt a carefully planned strategy based on the lessons of 1971.
For comrades and people in POJK, It is time to end hypocrisy, fear, and cowardice. Do not betray the blood of your martyrs by continuing this meaningless peaceful struggle. Like the movements witnessed in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, Kashmiris should demonstrate unity and determination by peacefully blocking roads, government offices, and streets in pursuit of their rights. First, the struggle must be directed against Pakistan’s policies, and India will always stand with the people of POJK.
Long live India and Kashmir.
About Authors:
Fatima Baloch is a senior geopolitical and regional affairs analyst who writes extensively on Afghanistan, Balochistan, and India, with a focus on regional security dynamics, insurgency movements, and South Asian strategic affairs.
Sehrish Kashmiri is a political writer and researcher focusing on Kashmir’s history, identity, and contemporary political developments. She holds a BS degree in Political Science from the University of Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, and writes on issues related to Kashmir, regional politics, and the challenges faced by societies affected by prolonged conflicts.
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