Pakistan Faces Its Own Discontent for decades, Pakistan’s establishment has responded to dissent with a predictable script: protests are dismissed as “externally sponsored,” critics are branded traitors, and grievances are buried under the weight of military suppression. But the flames of resistance spreading across Pakistan have exposed the hollowness of this narrative.
If discontent in Balochistan could be brushed aside as foreign-instigated, what excuse can Islamabad offer now, when thousands of its own people in PoK rise against systemic oppression, economic deprivation, and the brute force of the Pakistani army?
Unrest in PoK: Voices of Anger Rise Across Muzaffarabad, Dhirkot, Dadyal, and Chamyati, the streets are ablaze with anger. This is not merely protest — it is revolt.
Economic Misery: Residents face long power cuts despite the region generating surplus electricity. Tariffs remain exorbitant, while flour and basic essentials are sold at inflated prices with no real subsidies. State Violence: At least 10 civilians have been killed and over 100 injured as Pakistani forces opened fire on demonstrators. Containers block the streets while the army answers stone-throwing protesters with bullets.
Colonial Exploitation: Decades of plundering resources, neglecting services, and denying representation have left people with no option but to rise. The protests, led by the Awami Action Committee, are not fringe agitations but a people’s movement demanding dignity, accountability, and basic rights.
Parallels with Balochistan: A Familiar Story of Repression The story in POK mirrors what Balochistan has suffered for decades — enforced disappearances, military crackdowns, and resource exploitation masked as “development.” Each time the Baloch demand justice, Islamabad blames “foreign hands.” But now the same fury has erupted in POK. What will Pakistan say — that its own Kashmiri brothers and sisters are agents of some external conspiracy? The hypocrisy is undeniable. From Gwadar to Gilgit, the cries are the same: stop the exploitation, stop the brutality, and give us our rights.
The Coming Storm: From Sindh to Islamabad The establishment’s refusal to acknowledge indigenous dissent raises a larger question: what happens when the storm of discontent spreads further? In Sindh, minorities face daily persecution and forced conversions. In Karachi, chronic unemployment, inflation, and political exclusion breed resentment. Even in Islamabad, rising costs and collapsing governance are turning frustration into fury. The very tactics once used to crush Baloch and Sindhi identity movements may soon backfire in the country’s heartland. The longer the army clings to power, the more inevitable the revolt from within becomes.
Pakistan’s Crisis: A State Failing Its People The current unrest in PoK is not an isolated incident; it is a symptom of a deeper malaise. By relying on coercion over dialogue, and propaganda over reform, Pakistan has created a cycle of resentment that no amount of military might can contain. The people are no longer fooled. They see through the excuses, the blame games, and the empty promises. From PoK to Balochistan, and potentially Sindh and Karachi tomorrow, Pakistan’s greatest threat is not an external enemy — it is the anger of its own neglected citizens. The revolt is not being imported — it is being born in Pakistan’s own soil. Unless the state abandons military arrogance and embraces accountability, reform, and justice, the uprising from within will only grow louder.
Written by Aneesa Baloch