Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Passes 100 Days Under Internet Restrictions, Court Orders Restoration Within 10 Days

Internet access in Pakistan-administered Kashmir has been disrupted for more than 100 days, according to NetBlocks, the independent monitor that tracks connectivity shutdowns worldwide. The restrictions trace back to June 5, when the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government banned the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) and cut mobile data and broadband service across the region.

The ban followed the group's announcement of a long march and sit-in in Rawalakot. JKJAAC had been pushing for electoral reform, specifically the removal of 12 seats in the 45-seat AJK legislative assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir living elsewhere in Pakistan.

What started as a shutdown tied to one protest turned into months of on-and-off restrictions. TechJuice reported that connectivity stayed down for roughly 48 days before a partial restoration, which authorities then reversed on July 25 after a strike and fresh clashes broke out in Muzaffarabad.

Elections Went Ahead, Deadly Clashes Followed

Local elections tied to the unrest were staggered across three rounds, with the final phase held on August 10, according to Al Jazeera. Voting did not take place in protest strongholds around Rawalakot for security reasons, but a government for the autonomous region was formed based on results from the rest of the territory, Yahoo News reported, citing dpa.

The unrest turned deadly on July 27. Residents and local estimates cited by Al Jazeera put the death toll above 50, including seven law enforcement personnel, though those figures have not been independently verified.

A Phased, Uneven Restoration

The government's first real attempt to walk back the shutdown came on August 31, when AJK Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani used his first press appearance at the Muzaffarabad Press Club to announce that service would resume, according to TechJuice.

A Home Department notification issued that day, reported by Dawn, laid out a district-by-district schedule. Full broadband and cellular data service returned to Neelum district, Leepa Valley, Haveli, Bhimber and Mirpur. In Muzaffarabad and Jhelum Valley, access was limited to schools, colleges, universities and banks only. In parts of Bagh and Kotli, the same institutional-only arrangement applied, with a handful of areas, including Sehnsa, Sarsawa and Tattapani, kept dark entirely. Rawalakot and Sudhnoti, the districts at the center of the original protests, saw no restoration at all.

Faisal Javed, president of the Association of Pharmacies and Medical Stores, told Dawn the suspension had "severely disrupted electronic payments," leaving both traders and customers struggling.

By mid-September, according to a report cited by gulistannewstv and dated September 14, broadband and DSL service had been restored across AJK following a 99-day suspension. But 3G and 4G mobile internet reportedly remained unavailable in much of the territory, meaning most residents' day-to-day connectivity problems continued regardless of what was happening on fixed lines.

The Human and Economic Toll

Javid Razzaq, a resident of the Kotli area, told dpa the shutdown has been painful. "Not having access to basic things like WhatsApp is painful," he said. He noted that ATMs are working again, but access to the websites and apps used for online banking remains unavailable in a country where that kind of digital payment is common.

Al Jazeera reported the disruption has also hit the academic calendar, with the government forced to postpone entrance exams. TechJuice added that freelancers, government employees and digitally dependent traders have all reported financial losses tied to months of unreliable service.

Court Steps In

On Wednesday, the Azad Kashmir High Court ordered the government to restore internet service across the territory within 10 days, according to TechJuice. Justice Shahid Bahar issued the directive while hearing petitions filed jointly by the Azad Kashmir Bar Association and a local resident. The order carves out an exception only for areas where the security situation remains genuinely unstable, giving the government some room to keep restrictions in the districts still gripped by unrest.

A reasonable case for caution exists here. Authorities imposed the shutdown after violent clashes killed dozens, including law enforcement officers, and the security situation in Rawalakot and Sudhnoti has clearly not been resolved. Governments facing active unrest often argue that limiting real-time coordination tools reduces the risk of further violence, and no source in this record disputes that clashes were genuinely deadly.

But the shutdown has run well past the acute crisis. Elections were completed over a month ago, on August 10, and a government has been formed. Banking apps, entrance exams and freelance work have nothing to do with public safety, and their continued disruption falls hardest on ordinary residents who had no role in the protests.

Whether the AJK government complies with the High Court's 10-day deadline, and whether that restoration extends beyond fixed broadband to the mobile data most residents actually rely on, remains an open question as of September 15, 2026.