MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 4: Massive protests erupted across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Sunday following the arrest of former PoK Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regional president, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, in a fresh crackdown on supporters of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.
Niazi was detained by Mirpur police under Section 16 of Pakistan’s Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act while on his way to address a rally in Bhimber district allegedly on the directions of Pakistan Army.
The rally was part of PTI’s mobilisation campaign for August 5, marking six years since the abrogation of Article 370 by India and denouncing the continued detention of Imran Khan.
The arrest, allegedly carried out with the help of Pakistan Army who were in plainclothes and surprisingly Islamabad police personnel. This comes amid escalating repression of PTI leaders across Pakistan and its occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir.
Videos surface on social media showing Pakistan Army in civies, Mirpur Police and Islamabad police dragging former Prime Minister and forced him into a civilian vehicle and whisked away. Locals and his supporters were being seen resisting his abduction.
Niazi’s nephew, Advocate Sardar Moteeb, revealed that despite having secured protective bail from the Islamabad High Court valid until August 17, new warrants were issued against him under additional charges.
Protests erupted soon after, with PTI workers blocking roads and burning tyres in various towns across PoK, reflecting rising anger over military interference and political repression in the region.
Niazi served as the Prime Minister of PoK from August 2021 to April 2022. However, his term was abruptly cut short after a no-confidence motion—backed by 25 members of his own party—was reportedly orchestrated by Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.
A puppet government was subsequently installed under Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, a move widely condemned by PTI cadres.
The developments mirror a similar episode in Pakistan’s general elections, where despite PTI-backed candidates emerging as the largest group with 93 out of 265 seats, the government was handed over to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), which won just 18 seats. In PoK’s recent political history, the same pattern of manipulation has fuelled unrest, disenchantment, and increasing public defiance.
From exile in the United States, PTI’s PoK information secretary Chaudhry Maqbool Gujjar slammed Niazi’s arrest as “a cowardly act by a puppet regime.” He added, “The man who was once lifted by Imran Khan into the Assembly is now leading crackdowns on those defending democracy.”
The growing unrest in PoK adds to Islamabad’s domestic crisis, with the military and civilian establishment facing rising criticism for systematically dismantling PTI’s political influence.
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