Munir–Shehbaz Unable to Contain PoK Unrest, Here’s the Real Reason

International News: The Shehbaz Sharif government has put in all its efforts to end the unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). On one side, a committee of ministers and leaders has been sent to PoK for reconciliation. At the same time, Shehbaz himself has spoken about taking action in the entire matter. For now, an order has also been sent to the army not to take action. Amid all these government measures, one question is arising – will the unrest in PoK come to an end?

Why is there unrest in PoK?

The Pakistan Kashmir Public Action Committee is protesting with 38 demands. The committee says that the 12 seats reserved in the PoK Assembly for migrant people should be abolished. Apart from this, the committee is also demanding an end to the VIP culture of leaders. There are two main reasons behind these demands. The first reason is that PoK has a total of 53 Assembly seats, where 27 seats are needed to form a government. In such a situation, the 12 seats reserved for migrants become very crucial. It is these reserved seats that decide who will get power in PoK. The second reason is that the development schemes of the Pakistan government reach PoK at a very slow pace. Because it lies along the Indian border, PoK often remains disturbed. The everyday life of the people here is very difficult.

Will the unrest in PoK stop?

At present, it does not seem so. Because Shaukat Nawaz Mir of the Action Committee has said that until their demands are accepted, the protests will continue. The protestors have started demonstrations with a dead body in the capital Muzaffarabad. On the other hand, leaders of the migrant community say that when partition happened and they came from India, these seats were given to them. If these are taken away, they will create a separate unrest. According to 2017 figures, the population of migrants in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is 2.5 million, while the number of native residents is 2.7 million. That means the Pakistan government has been caught between the devil and the deep sea.