Relying to fake rumours that the Pakistan government is disseminating on Jammu and Kashmir, a look at the actual situation shows how the areas under its illegal control as Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) are battling to get even basic amenities.
Protests in different areas of PoJK, against the non-availability of basic amenities, have become a routine affair because Pakistan authorities are treating this region as a colony.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Government has pumped in a huge amount to accelerate developmental activities in the Union Territory (UT) but in comparison to J&K, developmental activities virtually came to standstill in the PoJK due to the colonial mindset of Pakistani rulers, show several indicators.
PoJK residents struggling for infrastructure
In terms of infrastructure, Jammu and Kashmir is way ahead of the PoJK region. With four airports, several universities, proper railway infrastructure, highway and tunnels, hospitals, and bridges, Jammu and Kashmir is infrastructurally superior.
PoJK is not well connected with Pakistan, while Jammu and Kashmir is well connected to the rest of India because of the vast highway and railway network. After completion of the widening project of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, road connectivity of J&K with the rest of the country will further improve.
When residents of PoJK urge India to send food amid shortage
As per reports published in a section of media, in the year 2020, when Coronavirus was at its peak in Pakistan, residents of PoJK had appealed to the Indian government to send food via Rajouri and Jammu due to the acute shortage of food in the region.
Natives of PoJK had alleged that no medical facilities were available in their areas. Besides a bag of 20 kg flour which was priced under Pakistani rupees 700 (Indian rupees 350 approximately) per bag before the Coronavirus struck the region, was sold at more than Pakistani Rs.1,200 a bag. Flour mills from Pakistan's Punjab province sold flour to PoJK at extraordinary rates.
No comparison of Jammu or Srinagar with Muzaffarabad
As far as development is concerned, comparing Muzaffarabad to Srinagar or Jammu is unfair and unjustified because areas of PoJK like Mirpur, Chakoti, and Muzafarabad are vastly under-developed and ignored. Most of the areas of Muzaffarabad are underdeveloped, backward and neglected by Pakistani rulers.
Comparing J&K's economy with PoJK
As per the World Bank data, the GDP per capita income of J&K remained at Rs 65,615 in the financial year 2018. The poverty rate in J&K is 10.35 percent, which is almost half of the national average of around 21 percent. The tourism sector plays a significantly important role in the state's economy. The literacy rate in J&K is 67.16 percent, according to the 2011 census data.
Before the eruption of terrorism in J&K in 1989, tourism formed an important part of the J&K's economy and Kashmir was the favourite destination for Bollywood. The J&K has had 19 cinema halls that were closed due to enforced radicalization exported by Pakistani agents operating within the Indian territory and also due to rising terrorism and unrest.
The GDP of PoJK is $12.60 billion and the literacy rate in the whole PoK region is 46 percent as per the latest survey. Just in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, the literacy rate is 37.85%. As per the report of the Pakistani government, poverty in Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh was at 43 percent at that time while poverty in the whole PoJK region was 34 percent.
