Hundreds of people have marched in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to mark the sixth anniversary of India’s revocation of the disputed region’s semiautonomous status. The protesters demanded the restoration of statehood for the India-administered side of the Himalayan region, which has been split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.
The protests mark a significant moment in the region’s history, as Article 370 of India’s Constitution granting Kashmir and Jammu semiautonomous status was revoked on August 5, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. The move was met with widespread criticism and protests in the region, and tensions between India and Pakistan have remained high ever since.
In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, hundreds of members of civil society and political parties gathered to demand the restoration of statehood for the region. Mazhar Saeed Shah, a leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of pro-independence Kashmiri political and religious groups, urged the international community to help ensure Kashmiris are granted the right to self-determination, as called for in United Nations resolutions decades ago.
In Srinagar, in India-administered Kashmir, supporters of the opposition India National Congress party rallied to demand that the government restore the statehood of the disputed region. The rallies come nearly three months after Pakistan and India exchanged military strikes over a mass shooting in Pahalgam in India-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad – a charge Pakistan denied.
The confrontation between India and Pakistan raised concerns about a possible military escalation before global powers defused the crisis. While the May 10 ceasefire has held, tensions are still simmering. New Delhi last week said three Pakistani men who carried out the Pahalgam attack were killed during a gun battle on July 28 on the outskirts of Srinagar.
India’s top court will hear a plea for the restoration of Kashmir’s federal statehood this week, court officials said on Tuesday. The hearing, scheduled on Friday in the Supreme Court, follows an application filed by two residents. The Supreme Court in December 2023 upheld removing the region’s autonomy but called for Jammu and Kashmir to be restored to statehood and put on a par with any other Indian federal state “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.
In November, Kashmir elected its first government since it was brought under New Delhi’s direct control as voters backed opposition parties to lead its regional assembly. However, the local government has limited powers, and the territory continues to be, for all practical purposes, governed by a New Delhi-appointed administrator.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s moral and diplomatic support for Kashmiris seeking what he called “freedom from India’s illegal occupation”. The international community remains concerned about the situation in Kashmir, and the protests mark a significant moment in the region’s ongoing struggle for self-determination.