Tight controls on freedom of expression have been a hallmark of the Pakistani government’s policy in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). While militant organizations are being given full coverage to propagate their views and disseminate literature, those critical of the Pakistani and PoK government, are facing repression.

The Pakistani government has long limited dissemination of news in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.  That is evident from the fact that there is no locally based news agency. In addition, PoK has just two dailies and equal number of weeklies, being published locally. As compared to PoK, newspapers published from Jammu and Srinagar cities on daily basis are more than 370!  

 Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has no English newspaper of its own, either published from Muzaffarabad or Mirpur—the two major cities of the occupied territory. Ironically, PoK websites show newspapers like Kashmir Times, Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Reader, Kashmir Observer etc. ( all published from Srinagar), as their publications!  

Pakistan’s “Kashmir Affairs Ministry” denies permission to PoK newspapers

 People living in PoK largely rely on local editions of Pakistani newspapers for news and information.   In order to publish within the territory of PoK, newspapers and periodicals need to be granted permission by the Kashmir Council and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs in Islamabad. These bodies unlikely grant permission to any proposed publication, which are sympathetic to any discourse on Kashmir and its affairs other than that sanctioned by the Pakistani government.  The same rules apply to the publication of books. Members of the press have been complained of the intrusive and coercive policies of the PoK government particularly of the ISI and the Pakistani military.

There have been many instances in PoK when journalists, who did not toe to Government or Army line, were  subjected to severe kind of torture. Waheed Kiyani, a local journalist working for the Reuters news agency, was once arbitrarily arrested by the ISI when he was returning from the city of Rawlakote after covering a political meeting.

Book on Mangla Dam banned

The PoK `government’ regularly bans books that it considers to be prejudicial to the “ideology of the State’s accession to Pakistan.” This includes all books that propagate or discuss Kashmiri nationalist discourse with its emphasis on “independence for a united Kashmir’’ or merger with India.    

 Muhammad Saeed Asad, a self-described `Kashmiri nationalist’, living in PoK, has authored numerous books on Kashmir Affairs.  Employed as a Social Welfare Officer in PoK, he was, however, suspended in 2002 for writing a book on the Mangla Dam that had  questioned Pakistan’s right to water sources originating in Kashmir.

  Pakistan has banned three books written by Saeed Asad for being “anti-state and an attempt to promote nationalist feelings amongst Kashmiris.”  These include Shaur-e-Farda, banned in 1996, which comprises letters written by Maqbool Butt to his friends and relatives over a span of two decades. Saeed Asad’s book on the Mangla Dam controversy was banned on November 21, 2002, and a book on the Northern Areas was banned in June 2004.

 The government of Pakistan is on the other hand willing to fund books and propaganda to the tune of millions of rupees to propagate its own views and stance. People of PoK are forced to listen to   “Azad Kashmir’’ Radio, a subsidiary of the state-controlled Radio Pakistan that is mandated to spread canards against India and Indian State. 

 Official repression of freedom of expression is not limited to controls and censorship specific to Kashmiri nationalists and journalists. Even local public, if they raise anti-Government voice or try to register their anger, are subjected to harshest punishments and troubles.

 In spite of imposing a media blackout, social media is abuzz with videos of angry protesters denouncing Islamabad’s step-motherly treatment of PoK as well as heartrending visuals of people scrambling to get hold of a bag of flour!