“From ‘Enemies’ to ‘Patriotic Brothers’: Pakistan’s Cynical U-Turn Exposes Its Rot”, Khalsa Vox, August 13, 2026.
“Pakistan’s latest about-face on the protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is not statesmanship. It is the desperate flailing of a system that has long treated the people of PoK as disposable subjects rather than citizens. Just days after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif branded the demonstrators “enemies like India,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s adviser Rana Sanaullah has discovered that 99 per cent of those linked to the banned Joint Awami Action Committee are “our patriotic brothers.” The sudden conversion from terrorists and traitors to patriotic kin tells you everything about the hollow, opportunistic character of the Pakistani state.
For months, ordinary people in PoK have taken to the streets against soaring prices, electricity tariffs, governance failures, and a legislative setup designed to keep real power in Islamabad’s hands. The 12 reserved “refugee” seats have long served as a convenient tool for Pakistani parties to install compliant governments. When the Joint Awami Action Committee mobilised against this arrangement and broader neglect, the response was classic: ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, impose internet blackouts, deploy force, and open fire. Dozens of civilians have been killed. The toll since June stands at least at 90. Hospitals were reportedly taken over, medical help obstructed, and journalists kept out. This is the real face of “Azad” Kashmir.
Then the elections arrived, staged in phases under the shadow of violence and boycott calls. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, already on course for a comfortable majority after the first two rounds, suddenly needed calm more than confrontation. The same voices that justified the crackdown by claiming Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan elements had infiltrated the protests now speak of dialogue and brotherhood. Sanaullah promises that once the PML-N forms the government with a two-thirds majority, resolving the “issue” will be the first task. Shehbaz Sharif himself has begun talking of sitting at the table. The timing is transparent. Votes first, principle never………………….”
Read the full article at Khalsa Vox.
