UK Parliamentarians Raise Alarm Over Communications Blackout and Escalating Tensions in AJK
UK Parliamentarians, led by Imran Hussain MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, have written to the UK Foreign Secretary raising serious concerns over reports of a communications blackout, arrests, escalating tensions, and the breakdown of dialogue in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The letter calls on the UK Government to assess the situation, support British nationals and families unable to contact loved ones, press for restoration of communications, encourage peaceful dialogue, and monitor developments to prevent further escalation.
6/8/20262 min read
JKJAAC Welcomes Letter by UK Parliamentarians Calling for Urgent Action on Communications Blackout and Escalating Tensions in AJK
Muzaffarabad / Rawalakot / Islamabad / London | 8 June 2026
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee welcomes the letter written by Imran Hussain MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, and supported by a large number of UK Members of Parliament and Lords, to the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, regarding the worsening situation in Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The letter raises deep concern over reports of a communications blackout, wider lockdown, arrests, restrictions on public communication, and escalating tensions in AJK. It also highlights the distress of British Kashmiris across the United Kingdom who have been unable to contact relatives and loved ones in the region.
JKJAAC appreciates the concern shown by UK Parliamentarians for the safety, welfare, and rights of the people of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, including British citizens, dual nationals, visitors, and families affected by the disruption of internet and mobile services.
The letter rightly calls for urgent clarification and action from the UK Government, including an assessment by the FCDO, support for British nationals in the region, representations to the Governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir for the lifting of communication restrictions, restoration of dialogue, and monitoring to prevent further escalation.
JKJAAC reiterates that the situation in AJK must be addressed through peaceful dialogue, restraint, democratic engagement, and respect for fundamental rights. The rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, access to communication, public protest, and meaningful negotiation must be protected.
The people of Azad Jammu & Kashmir have long raised legitimate concerns around public services, governance, electricity, flour subsidies, elite privileges, democratic representation, and implementation of signed agreements. These issues cannot be resolved through force, arrests, communication shutdowns, or confrontation.
JKJAAC calls on the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir to immediately restore internet and mobile communications, release peaceful detainees or produce them before courts, ensure medical access for the injured, end coercive actions against civilians, and resume meaningful dialogue with JKJAAC representatives.
JKJAAC also urges the UK Government, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the British High Commission in Islamabad, and international human rights bodies to continue monitoring the situation closely and to use all appropriate diplomatic channels to support de-escalation, protection of civilians, and a peaceful resolution.
The people of AJK deserve peace, dignity, justice, and the opportunity for their concerns to be addressed through dialogue rather than confrontation.
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