PoJK Blame Game: Pakistan Army Shuts Doors On Talks, Accuses India Of Fuelling Food & Power Riots | Exclusive Details

Last Updated:June 16, 2026, 23:25 IST

The Pakistani military establishment frames the massive street agitation as a 'terrifying foreign-funded plot'

Facing massive, unprecedented domestic pushback across Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Rawalpindi has resorted to its traditional playbook of blaming foreign intelligence agencies for indigenous political movements. In an exclusive, in-camera briefing to journalists, the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, explicitly accused New Delhi of orchestrating ongoing riots in the occupied territory. The military spokesperson laid down an uncompromising, zero-tolerance framework, completely slamming the doors on future negotiations with the proscribed Joint Public Action Committee—formerly the Awami Action Committee—while vowing to crush the dissent through strict constitutional and military mechanisms.

The extensive briefing comes at a time when the civilian fabric in PoJK has completely fractured. While the Pakistani military establishment frames the massive street agitation as a “terrifying foreign-funded plot", ground realities paint a distinctly different picture of local rebellion against high wheat prices, inflated electricity tariffs, and a controversial 12-seat legislative reservation for refugees that locals argue dilutes their political autonomy. Rather than addressing these structural economic failures and basic civil liberty crises, General Sharif claimed that disruptive factions, weaponised by Indian narrative-building, were solely responsible for the crippling road blockades and escalating violence across the valley.

Hardline Retaliation Replaces Democratic Dialogue

The closed-door briefing signalled a definitive end to any pretense of state-led reconciliation. General Sharif made it clear that the state would no longer hold any talks or compromise on its writ under political or public pressure. The military leadership sounded a severe alarm, alleging that key elements within the Joint Public Action Committee have actively taken up arms against the state machinery. According to Rawalpindi, the movement is pushing a highly sensitive, subversive agenda aimed at forcibly opening routes across the highly militarised Line of Control (LoC) to the Indian side.

This defensive, finger-pointing rhetoric highlights the deep anxiety within Pakistan’s security apparatus regarding its loosening grip on PoJK. Observers note that the military’s sudden shift from what it called a “measured, no-rush approach" to an absolute, anti-terror clampdown reflects an institutional failure to pacify the region through political consensus. Despite severe police crackdowns, widespread internet blackouts, and the registration of sedition cases against prominent local activists, the civil rights movement has only intensified, exposing deep-seated public resentment against federal overreach and structural exploitation by Islamabad.

Historical Rhetoric Meets Modern Disillusionment

Throughout the session, General Sharif heavily leaned on nationalistic posturing to deflect from the immediate administrative crisis, describing Jammu and Kashmir as the “unfinished agenda" of the 1947 partition. He reminded attendees of the historical conflicts Pakistan has fought over the territory—including the wars of 1948 and 1965, the 1999 Kargil conflict, and the Maarka-e-Haq—while emphasising that a significant portion of the Pakistan Army personnel trace their ancestry back to the region. He further claimed that the local populace remains firmly tied to Islamabad, citing legacy slogans of allegiance to Pakistan.

However, the military’s aggressive attempt to link basic demands for food subsidies and transparent resource allocation to cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and India reveals a deep disconnect. By reducing an intense, domestic human rights crisis into a binary proxy war, the Pakistani military establishment aims to justify its massive deployment of additional paramilitary forces and the deployment of anti-terrorism statutes against its own citizens. As PoJK moves closer to highly volatile legislative elections, Islamabad’s reliance on force and external blame over actual governance continues to push the occupied territory towards an unprecedented breaking point.

About the Author

Manoj Gupta

Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

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