'Are we not Pakistani enough?': Why PoK police officials are revolting against Asim Munir and Shehbaz Sharif

Commuters ride past a billboard with portraits of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L), Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf (2L), Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir (2R) and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Baber, displayed along a street in Lahore on May 24, 2025. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

In a major embarrassment for Pakistan’s military-led establishment, uniformed police officers and revenue department officials in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have openly revolted against the Islamabad regime, alleging decades of systematic discrimination, neglect, and exploitation. The uprising, centred in Muzaffarabad, has snowballed into an indefinite strike -- a first-of-its-kind public defiance against the powerful Pakistani state machinery in the region, reports News18 Hindi.

As per the report, hundreds of PoK police officers, under the banner of Jamiat-e-Police Kashmir, have refused duty and launched a sit-in protest, donning full uniform while holding banners and placards condemning the Pakistan government’s biased treatment. Revenue department staff, meanwhile, have joined in solidarity, wearing black armbands and declaring their intent to go on full strike from August 3. The unrest, unprecedented in scale and coordination, signals deep-rooted resentment within PoK’s administrative workforce, and a complete breakdown of trust in the federal establishment.

Uniformed rebellion on Muzaffarabad streets

The striking officers accuse the Pakistani government of blatantly discriminating against PoK-based police personnel in terms of salary, pension, and basic rights — despite them facing the same, if not harsher, operational challenges as their counterparts in Punjab or Sindh.

“Our officers die in the line of duty, but their widows have received the same meagre pension for the past 50 years,” said one protester, as quoted by News18 Hindi in its report. “In Punjab, police families receive full compensation, medical care, and state support. In PoK, we’re treated like second-class citizens.”

The protest has turned into a visible display of resistance, with slogans echoing through Muzaffarabad’s streets, exposing Pakistan’s so-called ‘governance’ in the region as deeply unjust and institutionally biased. Despite the brewing crisis, the government under Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has chosen silence -- a silence that only underscores Islamabad’s apathy toward its occupied territories.

The daily realities: Insult upon injury

Beyond pensions and benefits, protesters highlight the absurd limitations placed on their work. Officers claim that the monthly fuel allowance lasts only three days, forcing them to pay out of pocket to patrol their areas. The uniform washing allowance reportedly covers just one week’s laundry costs — symbolic of the broader neglect.

“Are we not Pakistani enough for this government?” one officer asked angrily. “Is this discrimination because we serve in a disputed territory? We risk our lives, but Pakistan treats us as expendable.”

Adding insult to injury, PoK police and their families are reportedly barred from receiving treatment in top government hospitals reserved for other branches of Pakistan’s armed forces. “They deny us healthcare and deny us dignity,” said another protesting officer.

Revenue department joins in

The unrest has rapidly spread across departments. Revenue officials have declared they will join the strike from August 3. Wearing black bands, they too are protesting Islamabad’s persistent neglect of PoK and the discriminatory treatment of local government staff. With critical departments threatening to shut down indefinitely, the situation is spiralling toward a major administrative paralysis in the region.

Islamabad’s deafening silence

As the crisis deepens, the Pakistan government, particularly Field Marshal Asim Munir’s military-backed administration, has failed to respond, let alone negotiate. This silence is telling. It reflects the military establishment’s long-standing attitude toward PoK: treat the territory as a strategic pawn, exploit its people, but offer nothing in return.

For decades, Pakistan has used PoK as propaganda against India while crushing dissent and denying basic rights to its own citizens there. This revolt, born not of ideology but sheer desperation, reveals the rot within Pakistan’s internal colonialism.

A blow to the narrative

The protest also punches holes in Pakistan’s decades-old narrative of “solidarity” with Kashmir. While Islamabad continues to project itself as a champion of Kashmiri rights on the global stage, its treatment of people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a mirror image of oppression and state-backed inequality.

Pakistan’s allies in the Islamic world and its Western backers can no longer ignore this duplicity. The images of uniformed police rebelling against the state expose the fragility of Pakistan’s control over PoK and highlight the growing discontent simmering under military rule.