Roadblocks and internet blackout paralyze life in Pakistan-administered Kashmir

In Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Azad Jammu and Kashmir, AJK), protests, strikes, and a near-total internet blackout have crippled everyday life for over six weeks. The unrest began in June when authorities banned the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a coalition demanding the abolition of 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees. Weeks of strikes, sit-ins, and clashes have resulted in dozens of deaths, including protesters and security personnel.

For many residents in Poonch Division, which borders India, the defining feature of the past month has been neither the elections nor the protests themselves, but the disruption caused by roadblocks and the prolonged internet shutdown. Mobile data and broadband services across AJK have been suspended since June 5.

The impact is visible in many aspects of life. Construction laborer Zaheer Iqbal from Keri Kot village recalled exactly how much fuel it took to save his brother's life after a heart attack. With no ambulance service in the village, his brother was carried on a makeshift bed to the nearest road. Neighbors siphoned petrol from motorcycles to gather enough fuel for the trip to Hajira hospital. At the hospital, doctors stabilized the patient but said he needed immediate transfer to Islamabad. Another car, another favor, and another search for petrol were needed before the brother received treatment.

In Sudhnoti district, trader Malik Niaz Ahmed said the internet shutdown hit students hardest, along with shortages of government-subsidized wheat due to road closures disrupting supplies. Traders are forced to buy flour at market rates nearly three times the subsidized price.

Education has also suffered. Masood Khan, principal of a postgraduate college in Poonch's Pallandari area, described the internet closure as the single biggest obstacle. His students were midway through entrance exams for medical colleges when the remaining three papers were postponed. More than six weeks later, they are still waiting. "No exam means no result, which means no admission. For an entire generation of students here, this is a wasted academic year," he said.

Businesses are also hit hard. Malik Dawood, who owns a printing business in Muzaffarabad, said his business has "completely collapsed" since June 5. His staff drive two hours out of the city just to find a mobile signal to contact clients and suppliers. He estimates the shutdown has cost him between 15 and 20 million Pakistani rupees ($54,000-$72,000) during what is usually the busiest period due to election-related work.

Lawyer Usman Gul had planned his wedding reception for June 9, the same day JAAC announced its long march towards Muzaffarabad. With banks and ATMs inoperable due to the internet shutdown, he had to borrow cash from friends to pay vendors. Some vendors said they could no longer guarantee services due to road closures. Gul postponed the reception.

Government officials insist life has largely returned to normal, with internet access maintained at limited locations like banks. But residents in Poonch and Sudhnoti describe an internet shutdown with no exceptions, a mobile network that struggles to sustain even a basic phone call, and fuel shortages that nearly cost a man his life.

Some, like Iqbal, say they will not vote in the upcoming election, now scheduled for August 10 in Poonch Division, because they believe they would be voting for people who "brutalize" them. Others, like Dawood, plan to vote, arguing that solutions lie in parliament, not blockades. For salon owner Salma Ahmed, the election is almost beside the point: "This prolonged internet closure is affecting me every single day. How long can this go on?"