Propaganda about Azad Kashmir’s Route Closures, Food Shortage Exposed

MUZAFFARABAD – As situation remained tensed in Azad Kashmir amid recent agitation, government officials firmly opposed claims that entry points to Azad Kashmir have been closed, while residents, transporters, and local sources continue to report shortages of food, fuel, medicines, and other essential supplies in several affected areas. Authorities said all major entry points between Pakistan and Azad Kashmir remain fully operational. At Brar Kot checkpoint in Mansehra, officials said people from both Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to cross freely after routine documentation and security checks. Trucks carrying food, medicines, and other essential commodities are moving normally without restrictions. Muzaffarabad DC dismissed reports of a supply crisis, saying there is no shortage of food in the district and that transportation of essential goods remains uninterruptedm and that security personnel deployed at entry points are conducting only routine inspections and are not preventing the movement of people or commercial vehicles. Drivers transporting food supplies and traders dealing in essential commodities echoed the official position, saying that cargo vehicles continue to reach their destinations. Officials also pointed to videos circulating from various checkpoints, arguing that they contradict claims of complete road closures and expose what they describe as misleading information spread by “trouble-makers.” Despite the official assurances, protesters shared different picture. Many claim they are facing severe shortages of flour, rice, sugar, pulses, medicines, petrol, and other daily necessities as transportation disruptions continue to affect supply chains. Some residents allege that police prevented them from carrying food, fuel, and medicines to family members living in affected areas. There is currently no policy aimed at blocking food supplies but acknowledge that petrol deliveries have been intentionally restricted as part of a pl