One nation builds, the other destroys: The Kashmir contrast

As the dust settles on the historic constitutional transformation of Jammu and Kashmir, the truth is now indisputable: Jammu and Kashmir is flourishing while Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) languish in systemic neglect, political suppression, and economic decay.

It is no longer a contest of competing narratives. It is a stark, data-driven comparison of progress versus paralysis, of democracy versus disenfranchisement. India’s vision for Jammu and Kashmir is delivering results; Pakistan’s false promises in PoJK are imploding under the weight of lies, repression, and betrayal.

Development: Numbers Don’t Lie

In 2025-26, Jammu and Kashmir’s budget stands at a staggering ₹1.12 lakh crore (approx. $12.9 billion). PoJK, in comparison, has to make do with just PKR 49 billion (approx. $1.77 billion). When adjusted for population, India spends nearly three times more per citizen in J&K than Pakistan does in PoJK.

India’s investments are visible, from world-class healthcare and education institutions to cutting-edge infrastructure. The IIT, IIM, AIIMS, and NIT in Jammu and Srinagar are producing the next generation of technocrats, doctors, and administrators. In contrast, PoJK remains stuck in a cycle of unemployment and under education, with barely seven universities and a handful of underfunded medical colleges.

Even in health, J&K stands tall. The infant mortality rate in Indian-administered Kashmir is three times lower than PoJK. There are more hospitals, more doctors per capita, and vastly superior access to care. In contrast, PoJK’s doctor-patient ratio is over four times worse than WHO standards.

Political Representation vs Political Repression

The people of Jammu and Kashmir today are active participants in Indian democracy. They vote, they protest, they are represented in Parliament, and their voices matter in the corridors of power in New Delhi.

PoJK and GB, on the other hand, are political black holes, governed not by elected leaders, but by bureaucrats handpicked by Islamabad. The so-called ‘governments’ of PoJK and GB have neither financial autonomy nor constitutional recognition. They are glorified administrative units, ruled from afar by Pakistani generals and federal ministries. Their budgets are dictated by Islamabad. Their resources are looted. Their people are silenced.

The farcical “Karachi Agreement” of 1949, which supposedly ceded control of GB to Pakistan, wasn’t even made public until 1992 because it likely never existed in any legal form. No representative from Gilgit-Baltistan was even present during its signing. This is not governance; it is colonial occupation by another name.

Human Rights: Freedom in One, Fear in the Other

While India is often unfairly maligned by disinformation campaigns, the reality in PoJK and GB is far grimmer and largely ignored by the global media. Enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and extrajudicial killings are common. Journalists vanish. Activists are jailed. The army kills civilians and labels them “terrorists” as it did in May 2025 when it executed two PoJK youth, Zarnosh Naseem and Jibran Naseem.

Religious persecution is rampant. Pakistan’s constitution itself discriminates against Ahmadiyyas. In Gilgit-Baltistan, Shia Muslims face regular sectarian violence. The Awami Action Committee and UKPNP have consistently raised alarms about abductions and disappearances. But Islamabad’s only response is more repression.

Contrast this with J&K, where religious freedom is protected by law, and people of all faiths, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists coexist, celebrate festivals, and participate in public life. The difference is not just legal, it is lived reality.

A Tale of Two Economies

The economic contrast could not be starker. In Jammu and Kashmir, roads are being built, railways are being connected, and industries are being incentivized. The Chenab bridge, a marvel of engineering has now linked the Kashmir valley with the rest of India by rail. A Delhi-Srinagar expressway is under construction. Power and water are reaching the remotest villages.

Meanwhile, in PoJK, people are protesting for basic staples, like flour and electricity. In 2024 alone, the region witnessed massive public unrest over inflated utility bills and collapsing public services. The response from Islamabad? Meagre subsidies, superficial announcements, and the imprisonment of protest leaders. It’s a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.

Unemployment is crippling PoJK’s youth. With no private sector, no investment, and no development, their only options are to join the Pakistani army’s Northern Light Infantry or languish in despair. Meanwhile, Indian-administered Kashmir is slowly but surely becoming a hub for education, tourism, and industry.

Democracy vs Military Rule

Perhaps the most damning contrast is in governance. In Jammu and Kashmir, even critics of the government can freely express themselves, organize rallies, and seek judicial recourse. In PoJK, even questioning Pakistan’s claim over the territory is a crime.

Section 4(7)(3) of the PoJK Constitution makes it illegal to question the region’s forced accession to Pakistan. How can a land be free when its people are not allowed to dream differently? When even ideas are illegal?

What the World Must See

The time has come for the international community, especially media and human rights organizations, to stop turning a blind eye to the grim realities of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. For decades, Pakistan has peddled propaganda about India’s Kashmir while treating PoJK and GB as occupied territories, exploiting their people, suppressing dissent, and stealing resources.

But people are beginning to rise. The protests in Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, and Gilgit are not aberrations, they are the early sparks of an awakening. And no amount of state-sponsored denial will suppress the truth for long.

Two Paths, One Future

Jammu and Kashmir is walking the path of inclusive development, democratic integration, and social harmony. It is not perfect, but it is free, it is rising, and it belongs to its people.

PoJK and GB, under Pakistan’s rule, remain trapped in a political time warp, repressed, misruled, and deliberately underdeveloped. The myth of Pakistani benevolence has crumbled. What remains is a wounded, angry population, betrayed by its rulers and yearning for justice.

The contrast is no longer philosophical. It is structural. It is economic. It is moral. Jammu and Kashmir is India’s success story. PoJK is Pakistan’s shame.

The reckoning is near

No amount of censorship or propaganda can hide the truth anymore. The people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are watching their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir thrive, with rights, infrastructure, education, and dignity while they remain trapped in repression and poverty.

Jammu and Kashmir is living proof that democracy delivers. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a cautionary tale of betrayal, exploitation, and broken promises. This is no longer a tale of two narratives, it’s a story of two realities. One rising with hope. The other sinking in despair. The real freedom struggle now lies across the LoC, in Muzaffarabad, Gilgit, and Skardu, not for separation, but for justice and dignity. And that future does not lie with Islamabad.

It lies with truth.

It lies with freedom.

It lies with India.