A symbolic editorial illustration depicting allegations of restrictions on peaceful civilian protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The image portrays schoolchildren, parents and local residents participating in a demonstration while facing a security barricade, highlighting broader discussions around civil liberties, freedom of expression and public dissent in the region.

What the amendment is aiming to do is already happening. The army has long played a major role in politics, the judiciary has long been under pressure, the provinces for years have been squeezed on finances and powers. From where I stand across the Pir Panjal in a Kashmir that still breathes with hope as part of the world’s largest democracy I watch with a mixture of relief and sorrow what is happening in Pakistan. I am grateful that I am free from the kind of oppression that