PoK Protesters Warn Pakistan Government: 'Don't Reach Out to India'

Protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir took to the streets to deliver a blunt warning to the government in Islamabad: do not reach out to India, and do not presume to speak for PoK as though it is simply part of Pakistan.

The demonstrations, reported by NDTV, come at a politically sensitive moment. India-Pakistan relations have been severely strained since the Pahalgam terror attack, and any suggestion of diplomatic outreach from Islamabad's side has been met with fierce resistance from nationalist and Kashmiri political groups within Pakistan's own political orbit. The protesters' assertion that 'PoK is not part of Pakistan' adds an unusual internal dimension to the discourse, with demonstrators essentially challenging Islamabad's authority over the territory.

The protest exposes the complex web of domestic pressures bearing on Pakistan's government as it navigates its post-Pahalgam relationship with India. While international actors have urged de-escalation and dialogue, hardline domestic constituencies in Pakistan — including voices from PoK itself — are pulling firmly in the other direction.

For India, the protests are a reminder that even cautious moves toward dialogue from Islamabad will face fierce internal opposition. New Delhi's position has been that talks cannot resume while cross-border terrorism continues, and the Pakistani domestic landscape revealed by these demonstrations suggests there is little near-term political space for substantive engagement from either side.