Anti-India Protests Erupt in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir as Tensions with India Escalate

Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir – Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of India’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s semiautonomous status. The demonstrations, which also occurred in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, reflect ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, heightened by recent cross-border military strikes.

The protests commemorate August 5, 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Article 370 of India’s Constitution, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. This status had granted the Muslim-majority region its own constitution and autonomy over internal matters, except defense, communications, and foreign affairs. The move was accompanied by a heavy military deployment, a communications blackout, and the arrest of political leaders, journalists, and activists under India’s anti-terrorism laws.

In Muzaffarabad, members of civil society and political groups, including the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, demanded the restoration of Kashmir’s statehood and called for international support to secure the right to self-determination as outlined in decades-old United Nations resolutions. Mazhar Saeed Shah, a leader of the pro-independence alliance, urged global intervention to address what he described as “India’s illegal occupation.” In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed the country’s moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri cause. Meanwhile, in Srinagar, the main city of India-administered Kashmir, supporters of the opposition Indian National Congress rallied to demand the restoration of statehood. The protests come ahead of a scheduled Indian Supreme Court hearing on Friday, where a plea from two residents seeking to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s federal status will be reviewed. In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the revocation of Article 370 but directed that statehood be restored “at the earliest and as soon as possible.” Tensions between India and Pakistan have intensified following a mass shooting in Pahalgam, India-administered Kashmir, in May, which New Delhi attributed to Pakistan—a claim Islamabad denied. The attack triggered cross-border missile, drone, and artillery strikes, killing over 70 people in the worst standoff since 1999. A ceasefire brokered on May 10 has held, but relations remain strained. Last week, India reported that three Pakistani men linked to the Pahalgam attack were killed in a gun battle near Srinagar on July 28. Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan since 1947 and claimed by both in its entirety, remains a flashpoint in the region. The recent election of a regional government in November, led by opposition parties, has limited authority, with the territory still largely governed by a New Delhi-appointed administrator.

As both sides continue to assert their claims, the international community watches closely, wary of the potential for further escalation between the two nuclear powers.