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Protestors across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), on Thursday, announced a civil disobedience campaign from August 14 as their demonstration against the Pakistan government entered its 66th day.

The civil disobedience call, to begin on Pakistan’s Independence Day, has been announced to protest against state atrocities and economic exploitation.

Under this civil disobedience campaign, residents of PoK will refuse to pay electricity, water, and gas bills, and will enforce a complete boycott of income tax payments across the entire region.

Announcing the decision, Imtiaz Aslam, a member of the Awami Action Committee (AAC), appealed to the public and business community in PoK to immediately halt all tax payments to protest against the heavy-handed tactics and violence by Pakistani security forces.

Call for UN Intervention

In addition, the protesters' organisation, the Awami Action Committee (AAC), announced that the United Nations should take formal cognisance of the Pakistani military's alleged atrocities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under the 1948 UN resolution. According to the AAC, PoK remains a disputed territory, and given that the Pakistani army is continuously firing at civilians and blocking essential food supplies, Pakistan has completely failed to fulfil its administrative responsibilities. Furthermore, the AAC highlighted that a plebiscite was supposed to be conducted in PoK under the 1948 UN resolution, which Pakistan has failed to carry out to date.

Mass Rallies Across Rawalakot and Mandhol

Massive anti-Pakistan protests were staged across the region on Thursday. In Mandhol, large numbers of women took to the streets to demonstrate against military atrocities. Meanwhile, in Rawalakot, over 90,000 people assembled at the local Eidgah ground, the original epicentre of the uprising, from June 9 to June 27 to register their protest. Protesters had been camped at Chinar Chowk and D-Chowk since July 27, but the demonstration was shifted back to the Eidgah ground to accommodate the overwhelming crowds.

Direct Comparison with Jammu & Kashmir's Healthcare Infrastructure

Addressing the crowds in Rawalakot, Sardar Umar Nazir, Core Member of Awami Action Committee, slammed the Pakistani military, comparing its violent crackdowns in PoK to its operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Emphasising the severe lack of basic infrastructure, Nazir pointed out that despite spanning 4,000 square miles, PoK does not possess a single fully equipped, modern hospital. In contrast, Jammu & Kashmir, India boasts six super-speciality medical institutions from Srinagar to Jammu, offering healthcare services vastly superior to top Islamabad-based facilities like the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) or Al-Shifa Hospital. Nazir, during the address, also stated that when the people of PoK demand hospitals and essential services, they are met with bullets.