Questions are being raised about the double standards of the ruling class in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
According to observers, after August 2019, the governments of the region seem to have gradually retreated from the stance that Azad Kashmir is the “base camp” of the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Some analysts from Indian-administered Kashmir describe this change as positive, however, they say that during the same time, political recruitments continued in institutions and projects established in the name of “Kashmir cause”, which is a cause for concern.
Recently, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said in an interview during a visit to Lahore that the region could never actually play the role of a “base camp”.
However, according to critics, contrary to this statement, the government established a separate secretariat for “Kashmir Cause Languages and Arts” and also created 13 new posts, on which it was clarified that these posts are related to the Liberation Cell, and not directly to the Kashmir issue.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has previously described this region as a “business camp”.
According to official documents, Rs 306 million was allocated for the Liberation Cell in the financial year 2024-25, while critics claim that appointments were made in this institution on political grounds.
Similarly, in 2019, when India abolished the special status of Kashmir, the then Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan declared himself a “local authority”, but during the same period, it was also claimed that the Kashmir issue was highlighted through dozens of political appointments in the Liberation Cell.
Moreover, in 2024, key leaders of the coalition government—including the president, prime minister, former prime minister, and speaker—repeatedly attempted to promote the “base camp” narrative. Critics say the narrative was revived at a time when popular protests against the political elite were gaining momentum in the region, and was intended to divert attention.
Analysts say that the denial of the role of the “base camp” on the one hand and the institution-building and spending under the same title on the other hand, reveal a clear contradiction in government policy, which has made the need for transparency and accountability more urgent than ever.
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