The Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad launched its Annual Report 2025 on Indian Occupied Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, highlighting extensive security operations and restrictions on civilian life across IIOJK. The report, discussed at a seminar attended by senior politicians and academics, presents an evidence-based statistical and analytical account of political developments, security practices and human rights conditions during 2025.
Ambassador Jauhar, in his opening remarks, traced the historical and diplomatic dimensions of the Kashmir dispute and emphasised the need to re-energise international outreach to seek a just and lawful resolution. He stressed that renewed diplomatic engagement is essential to keep the issue on global agendas and to protect civilians affected by ongoing operations documented in the IIOJK report.
Senator Asad Qasim drew attention to the humanitarian toll of prolonged conflict, citing detainees, separated families and community-level trauma. He linked regional stability to urgently addressing the Kashmir dispute through credible international mechanisms and noted that the human costs recorded in the IIOJK report underline the wider security risks for South Asia.
Mushaal Hussein Mullick described daily life in the occupied territory as a continuing human tragedy and warned that the dispute remains a serious nuclear flashpoint. She urged the international community to seize opportunities for an impartial and free plebiscite, echoing the report’s call for mechanisms that ensure the rights and voices of the people of IIOJK.
The report records that 2025 saw sustained large-scale security operations with preventive and mass detentions in successive phases. In February more than 500 individuals were detained in Kulgam, Budgam and Ganderbal after a security incident. Following the Pahalgam incident in April, an estimated 1,500–2,000 detentions were reported across multiple districts. A major crackdown in November resulted in approximately 1,500 detentions within two days, with additional arrests in Anantnag, Kathua, Ramban, Doda and Rajouri, and December operations added around 200 more detentions. In Ladakh at least 75 protest-related detentions were recorded between late September and early October.
Search and raid operations were widespread, with the report noting roughly 700 raids across 2025 and concentrated activity in November when over 500 locations were raided across the Valley. That month included more than 200 raids in Kulgam, over 150 residences in Srinagar and more than 50 in Sopore. After the Pahalgam incident, raids were carried out at over 60 locations in Srinagar. The report also records at least nine residential demolitions in April, a two-month suspension of VPN services in Rajouri, enforcement actions affecting media offices, and protest-related events in Ladakh that resulted in at least four civilian deaths and between 65 and nearly 100 injuries.
Speakers at the seminar agreed that the IIOJK report provides a comprehensive, evidence-backed account of the security and human rights situation in 2025. The event concluded with a joint call for a free and impartial plebiscite in IIOJK, which panellists said remains the only viable path to lasting peace and stability in the region.
