Beyond Breaking News: A female journalist’s journey to Azad Kashmir

Summary

• Meanwhile, social media increasingly portrayed AJK as a restricted and dangerous territory, often drawing comparisons with Indian-administered Kashmir, where restrictions on civil liberties and movement have been widely reported.
• Saeed-ur-Rehman, president of the Union of Journalists AJK, who has spent 21 years working with national newspapers, said journalists in the region enjoyed considerable freedom to report, including from areas near the Line of Control.
• Sardar Zulfiqar, vice chairman of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Press Foundation and a resident of the Poonch area, said he had initially supported the committee’s demands but later withdrew his support because of what he regarded as the movement’s changing direction.

AI Generated Summary

For a single mother, every journey beyond Karachi requires careful thought. Safety, distance and the well-being of a child are considerations that cannot be ignored. So, when I decided to travel to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), several colleagues questioned my decision.

“Why go there? It is a sensitive area. Is it safe for a woman journalist travelling alone?”

My daughter, Bibi Marium, has Down syndrome, but her condition has never kept her away from my professional journey. From the Karachi Press Club to assignments in interior Sindh and Punjab, she has accompanied me, learning about the world alongside her mother.

This journey, however, carried a different concern. Protests had erupted in AJK in early June, led primarily by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), which had presented a series of demands concerning electricity tariffs, food prices and governance. The movement initially raised a seven-point agenda, later expanding it to 12 points and eventually a 38-point charter. While the government accepted several demands and continued negotiations on others, the situation subsequently deteriorated into violence.

Meanwhile, social media increasingly portrayed AJK as a restricted and dangerous territory, often drawing comparisons with Indian-administered Kashmir, where restrictions on civil liberties and movement have been widely reported.

I wanted to discover the reality myself. Was Azad Kashmir really as unsafe and restricted as its online portrayal suggested? What freedom did journalists and ordinary citizens actually enjoy?

The Journey That Challenged My Perceptions

Travelling from Karachi through Islamabad to Muzaffarabad, I carried many of the assumptions common among people in Sindh: that Kashmir was synonymous with Line of Control tensions, firing and restricted movement.

What I encountered on entering AJK was markedly different.

My mobile data stopped working briefly, but the interruption did not translate into a wider shutdown of daily life. Markets were bustling, young people were riding motorcycles, and electric vehicles could be seen on the roads. A medical college bus carrying young female students passed alongside our rented vehicle. They appeared relaxed and confident, travelling through their routine day.

Unlike the heavy police presence and frequent checkpoints familiar to me in Karachi, I did not encounter security personnel at every turn. There was no widespread atmosphere of fear in the places I visited. People were going about their business, attending to family matters and managing their everyday responsibilities.

The contrast was striking: a temporary interruption in mobile connectivity, yet ordinary life continued.

After checking into my hotel, where Wi-Fi was available, I began speaking to residents to understand the situation beyond headlines and social media posts. Shopkeepers, hotel staff and women with children discussed familiar concerns, including inflation, school admissions and family weddings.

Their conversations were ordinary, and that ordinariness itself challenged the image I had brought with me.