‘Fallen’: Roadblocks, internet shutdowns leave Pakistani Kashmir in limbo | Demonstrations

Muzaffarabad, Pakistan administered Kashmir Zaheer Iqbal remembers exactly how much oil it took to save his brother’s life. First, 2.5 liters to drive from his village on top of Keri Kot mountain to the government hospital in Hajira, a distance of more than 10km (6 miles), a journey that took one hour.

Then another five liters, brought by a cousin who drove more than 60km (37 miles) away. Bottles city ​​in a two-hour journey, so there was enough fuel to continue to the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad.

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It was midnight in mid-June when Iqbal’s elder brother collapsed from chest pain in his village in Poonch Division, Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

With no ambulance service reaching Keri Kot, where most people travel by motorbike or on foot, Iqbal, his two sons and other relatives carried his brother on a makeshift bed to the nearest road.

“We put him on the bed and carried him on our shoulders and walked a long way to the road that connects to the city,” said Iqbal, 45, a construction worker.

Later, they persuaded their friend to drive them, while their neighbors took petrol from the motorbikes to get enough fuel for the trip to Hajira.

In a public hospital, the limited staff cannot do much more than stabilize the patient. Doctors told the family that they should be transferred to a major hospital, preferably in Islamabad, about 140km (87 miles), a journey of about four hours.

Another car had to be found, another favor begged and another search for petrol began before Iqbal could take his brother to a government hospital in Islamabad, where he was treated and is now recovering.

Iqbal’s problems took place in the midst of protests, demonstrations, and calls and Internet shutdown which has gripped Pakistan-administered Kashmir, known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), especially its part of Poonch, for the past six weeks.

The riots began in June after the government banned the Awami Joint Working Committee (Yes), a coalition that calls for the abolition of 12 parliamentary seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, among other grievances.

After a few weeks, beatings and arguments followed thousands of deathsboth protesters and security personnel, ahead of the sessions the election of the legislative assemblywhich is expected to start on July 27.

But for many people of Poonch Division, which on the border with Indiaand the surrounding areas, the main indicators of the last month were neither the election nor the demonstrations.

Instead, it has disrupted daily life due to road closures and prolonged internet outages.

digital silence

Mobile data and broadband services across AJK have been suspended since June 5.

In Hajira, Iqbal said parking has been less of a problem than in towns and cities because there is no small business in his village.

“This is one thing that affects less than cities,” he said. “But for those who depend on it, especially students and businesses, this has had a huge impact on people.”

His life depends on the Internet unlike relatives who work abroad or in Islamabad, who send money whenever they can.

“This is what has made us endure, as there are not many jobs since the protests started,” he said.

In the neighboring district of Sudhnoti, businessman Malik Niaz Ahmed, president of the local traders’ association, said the shutdown has affected students, and the shortage of government-subsidized wheat due to road closures mess things up.

“The June portion (of wheat) has not been fulfilled,” he said, because the roads have been closed.

Traders are instead forced to buy flour at market prices of around 6,000 Pakistani rupees ($21.60) per maund, a traditional measure in South Asia that weighs around 37kg, compared to the 2,200 rupees ($8) promised to residents.

Ahmed said his union council serves about 100,000 rural and urban residents.

About 8km (5 miles) to the north, in Poonch’s Pallandari area, Masood Khan, principal of the local college, described the same problem, compounded by the problem affecting his students.

“The blocking of the Internet remains a major obstacle to doing anything,” he said. Even cell phones always fail. Calls suddenly drop out, or the voice is so low that you can’t follow.

Khan has been teaching for three decades and has headed the college for the past six months. During his interview with Al Jazeera, the phone went down four times.

Since the protests began, he said, public transportation has become more expensive, while groceries have become more difficult to find.

“Puls, bread, eggs, vegetables, everything is available, but in short supply,” he said. “Most of the time we have to wait in line or pay extra.”

Khan’s students were in the middle of their entrance exams for medical colleges in Pakistan when the government suspended the remaining three papers due to irregularities.

Six weeks later, they are still waiting.

“No test means no result, which means they are not allowed,” he said. “For a whole generation of students here, this is a year without education.”

Poonch Division is still at the center of these protests, which have continued for weeks despite torrential rains and inclement weather.

Government officials said that the number of people protesting in different places has decreased but they said that the people have not dispersed. He said access to these areas is restricted by JAAC activists.

To be compassionate

About 150km (93 miles) north of Rawalakot, the largest city in Poonch Division, lies Muzaffarabadthe capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

There, the disruption caused by protests and internet shutdowns has been different, and sometimes unexpected.

Usman Gul, a 35-year-old lawyer, planned his wedding reception on June 9, the same day JAAC announced his long journey to Muzaffarabad.

He told Al Jazeera: “It was very interesting that even though I had two bank accounts, I had a lot of money there, I was poor for any reason.”

With banks and ATMs out of business due to the internet shutdown, and no way to send money electronically, Gul had to borrow money from friends to pay vendors and cover household expenses related to the wedding.

Some vendors also told him that they could no longer guarantee their services due to the road closures and ongoing riots.

Left with few options, Gul called off the party.

“On the other hand, the government encourages businesses, offices, entrepreneurs to use cashless technologies,” he said. “But when it comes down to reality, the only tool they have is to shut down the Internet, no matter how badly it affects people.”

Malik Dawood, who owns a printing business in Muzaffarabad, said his business has “fallen” since June 5, the day the last message was sent to him from his WhatsApp account.

His employees now drive two hours outside the city just to get a cell phone so they can communicate with customers and vendors.

He estimates that the suspension has cost him between 15 million and 20 million Pakistani rupees ($54,000 to $72,000) during what is usually a busy period for election-related business.

“They have the technology to prevent shutdowns in other areas,” he said of the government. “Why should the whole of AJK suffer because of a few thousand people in one or two districts?”

This frustration, however, did not translate into significant support for the JAAC, especially in Muzaffarabad.

Dawood said that traders were very supportive of the movement that will come out in 2023 in the prices of wheat and electricity.

But that support has “slowly disappeared”, he said, as the group expanded its demands to include the issue of seats for refugees, which it believes is a legal issue that should be resolved by parliament, not through street protests.

“Why do you oppose something like that and expect it to be solved down the road?” he said.

Salma Ahmed, a 34-year-old mother of two and owner of a salon in Muzaffarabad, said the internet shutdown has also affected her business.

She has been unable to print promotional materials and posters for her salon due to a communication breakdown. Workers who wanted to deliver from Islamabad also refused to travel because of the riots.

Ahmed said people supported JAAC’s previous proposal because it brought tangible relief through cheaper grain and lower electricity bills. The controversy over reserved seats, however, has sparked public interest.

He said: “This issue does not really concern us. “It has nothing to do with our daily life or our needs. It should be resolved legally, not on the streets.”

Contradictory facts

Government officials insist that life has returned to normal throughout the region.

Deputy Commissioner Munir Qureshi told Al Jazeera that internet has been preserved in a few places, including banks, and that the road closures are limited to parts of Poonch Division.

Beyond these areas, he said, movement in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur districts is not limited, as the election campaign continues as planned.

This story is in stark contrast to what the residents of Poonch and Sudhnoti describe: the indiscriminate shutdown of the Internet that they experienced; a mobile network that, according to college principal Masood Khan, struggles to even make phone calls; and, in Iqbal’s case, the lack of fuel that nearly cost him his life.

Iqbal, on his part, says that he no longer wants to vote in the upcoming elections, which are scheduled to be held on August 10 in Poonch Division.

“This time, when we vote, we will be voting for people who are oppressing us,” he said, referring to the conflicts between security personnel and critics.

Dawood, a businessman in Muzaffarabad, sees it differently.

“I will definitely vote,” he said. “I wish JAAC supporters will also realize that the solution to these problems comes from the legislature, not the blockade.”

For Ahmed, the election is almost over.

“Long-term internet shutdowns affect me every day,” he said. How long will this go on?

For Khan, a teacher who watches a group of students lose an academic year, the question is bigger than any decision.

“Who will answer for that?” he asked. “Who cares about the future of these children?”