Pakistan-occupied Kashmir went to the polls on July 27, but voting was quickly overshadowed by violence, protests and rigging allegations. A Pakistan Peoples Party worker was killed in Kotli, while a ballot box was reportedly seized and burned in Bhimber. In Rawalakot, the Joint Awami Action Committee said security forces fired on protesters, with reports of 19 or more deaths. The toll remains contested, and access restrictions make independent verification difficult. The crisis did not begin on polling day. Months of anger over governance, representation and 12 reserved assembly seats for refugees living in Pakistan had already triggered protests. Islamabad banned the JAAC under anti-terror laws in June. The election has now exposed a deeper political fault line, with PPP and PML-N trading accusations of rigging and violence. For India, the unrest reinforces its long-standing view that Pakistan’s control over PoK lacks legitimacy. As scrutiny grows inside and beyond Pakistan.
