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Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) witnessed widespread anti-Pakistan rebellion on August 5, as local residents systematically dismantled Islamabad’s official "Youm-e-Istehsal" narrative. Designed by the Pakistani establishment to mark the anniversary of India's abrogation of Article 370, the official program completely flopped, morphing instead into massive anti-Pakistan demonstrations across Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Dadyal, Kotli, Dhirkot, and Neelum Valley, with large numbers of women joining the protests to condemn state atrocities. Fresh firing by security forces at a bus stand in Neelum Valley left two protesters dead and five injured, pushing the total death toll from ongoing state-sponsored violence to 131.

Muzaffarabad Erupts in Rebellion and Public Resistance

The uprising in the capital, Muzaffarabad, ignited at 8:00 AM as citizens in Dulai, Chela Bandi, and Lower Plate burned tyres in the streets to oppose two months of military massacres. In the Upper Kot area, protesters publicly hung uniforms of the PoJK Police and Pakistani Rangers from overhead cables, explicitly invoking the Pakistani military's infamous 1971 surrender in Bangladesh. Muzaffarabad has been under a total shutdown since July 31, with all internal and external access roads blocked by heavy rocks. In stark contrast to the thousands of local civilians filling the streets in revolt, Pakistan's state-sponsored anti-India rally in Muzaffarabad managed to gather a meagre crowd of barely 40 political party workers.

Casualties Rise Amid Deadly Security Crackdowns

Pakistani security agencies, which have been firing upon unarmed civilians daily since July 27, continued their violent crackdown on August 5 by opening indiscriminate fire on demonstrators at a bus stand in Neelum Valley. The attack killed two protesters and left five injured, including one victim who sustained two bullet wounds, attesting to police brutality. With these two new fatalities, the total death toll from state violence in PoJK since June 7 has escalated to 131. Meanwhile, a severe humanitarian crisis persists as food supplies have been blocked since June 14; dozens of supply trucks remain stranded at the PoJK-Pakistan border, forcibly prevented from entering by Pakistan’s Punjab Police and Rangers.

Protest Leaders Reject Rigged Elections and Demand Accountability

At Rawalakot’s Chinar Chowk, the new focal point of the movement, key protest leaders addressed huge crowds. Sardar Umar Nazir rejected the recent bogus election results, stating they were conducted at gunpoint and placing them "at the tip of our shoes." Nazir warned the Pakistani army that its brutal "hard state" policy would fail in PoJK and asserted that while protesters could advance on Muzaffarabad at any time, they were holding back to prevent further loss of life. He urged Pakistani authorities to return to the negotiating table immediately before the movement raises "new demands."

Leaders Expose Decades of State Propaganda and ISI Interference

Pro-independence leader Sardar Aman Khan further exposed Islamabad’s claims, noting that from Neelum to Bimber, every town, village, and square now stands united against Pakistani oppression. Khan dismantled 78 years of state propaganda, emphasising that locals were repeatedly told that freedom took precedence over building schools, madrasas, or hospitals, yet the very army boasting nuclear weapons and fighter jets is now shooting unarmed civilians in PoJK. Consequently, Khan insisted that PoJK residents must seize power to eradicate poverty and helplessness.

Khan also exposed the underlying role of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in the recent two-phase elections held for 34 out of 45 seats, where Shehbaz Sharif’s PML-N secured 24 seats to claim a majority and Bilawal Bhutto’s PPP won 10 seats. Khan labelled the election a complete fraud orchestrated by Brigadier Faiq, the ISI Sector Commander in PoJK, who selected winners at will, and declared that governance would soon belong directly to the people. 

Threats Over Upcoming Poonch Polls and Denial of Subjugation

Looking ahead to the August 10 elections for 11 seats in the Poonch division headquartered in Rawalakot, Khan recited "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un" and threatened a complete blockade of the polls. He warned pro-establishment politicians who side with rulers over the people that they will face severe retribution and will not even find a grave in PoJK unless they join the protesters. Addressing the two-month food blockade, Khan firmly declared that even if forced to eat dry bread, the people of PoJK will never bow before "Yazid."