The mass movement in Pakistan-administered Kashmir led by the Awami Action Committee (AAC) has arrived at a decisive point, as the leadership has announced that the Long March will once again recommence on 15 July.
At the moment, around 100,000 people are gathered in six different sit-ins around the city of Rawlakot, where there is a heavy presence of security forces. There is a complete strike across Azad Kashmir in which there is no transport running and no shops or offices are open.
The state authorities have tried their best to break the movement but have failed on all occasions. On 12 July, there was heavy fighting in the small town of Arja in which two youngsters were killed by the security forces, while on the morning of 11 July a heavy fight took place on Shuajabad road linking the cities of Rawlakot and Bagh, in which at least two more youngsters were killed.
But despite the brutality of the state authorities, the morale of the masses is high and they are ready to break through every obstacle. The parting words of a crying mother to her departed son at his funeral yesterday were, “congratulations, my son, congratulations”. This is the spirit of almost all mothers across Azad Kashmir who have shown more determination and resolve than anyone else, and who are ready to sacrifice everything for this movement.
On 13 July, students from schools and colleges in their uniforms came out in big numbers and extended solidarity with the movement. The whole situation shows that the Long March beginning on 15 July can succeed, and that the battle to take over Rawlakot from the security forces can be won by the masses, and that from there they can successfully march towards the capital, Muzaffarabad. But, as the leadership has already stated, once the Long March starts, the demands of the movement will not remain restricted to its Charter of Demands but will go beyond that.
In this situation, the comrades of RCP in Kashmir are putting forward the programme that all power should be claimed by the committees, which in fact already already hold the power, although they haven’t yet announced it. Comrade Umer Riaz of the RCP, in his speech on 9 July, put forward the same programme, and called on the AAC to declare itself as the government of Azad Kashmir.
The RCP today published the text of the following leaflet, which is being circulated among the movement and which is getting a tremendous response from the masses. It has sparked an enthusiastic debate, with most layers agreeing with it.
All power to the committees! Forward to victory!
15 July Long March in ‘Azad’ Kashmir: all power to the committees!
1.
Over the past three years, the mass movement in Kashmir has passed through different stages of development, becoming so powerful that the Awami Action Committee has gradually emerged as a parallel centre of power alongside the state’s governing structure. For a considerable period, these two centres of power – the Awami Action Committee on one side, and the government and the state on the other – have coexisted, making a decisive confrontation between them inevitable. The state repression that began on 5 June marked the beginning of this decisive struggle, which is now rapidly moving toward its final stage. It is only by recognising this reality and understanding its significance that the movement’s next phase and strategy can be formulated on a correct basis.
This conflict between two competing centres of power distinguishes the present phase of the movement from all previous ones. It means that, on the one hand, the Committee and the movement, and on the other, the ruling class and the state, are both fighting for their survival. The inevitable outcome will be the victory of one side and the defeat of the other. Even if some form of compromise were possible at this stage, it would merely postpone the decisive confrontation for a few months. It would soon re-emerge with even greater intensity, confronting the Committee and the movement with the unavoidable task of fighting through even greater sacrifices to achieve final victory.
2.
Throughout these three years of struggle, the working people of Kashmir have been the real driving force behind the movement. At every stage, they have defeated state repression through their collective strength, revolutionary determination and courage. Organised within the Awami Action Committees, working people have not only provided the movement with its momentum but have also regulated the functioning of society according to the requirements of strikes and lockdowns. Through this process, they have repeatedly – and especially during the past month – demonstrated that it is the people themselves who are the real force that keeps society running.
On the Committee’s call, they have shut down the entirety of society, while at the same time maintaining the essential flow of life through collective solidarity and mutual cooperation, despite the rulers’ brutal restrictions. By organising society through their committees according to the needs of the movement, the working people have shown that these committees can serve as the key institutions of a future society organised in the collective interests and welfare of the people.
3.
In light of these circumstances, it has become necessary for the movement to advance through a long march – with the real possibility of an even fiercer confrontation with the state’s armed forces. As a result, the leadership of the movement must ensure that the greater the struggle and the sacrifices that are required, the greater the objectives that the movement sets before itself.
Last year, after the sacrifice of more than half a dozen lives, the Charter of Demands was accepted. To have now sacrificed dozens more lives over the past month, merely to secure implementation of that same Charter – through an agreement that may ultimately prove to be a deception – would run contrary to the immense popular support and strength behind the movement. Therefore, the Committee must move forward with a bold programme that reflects the overwhelming support of more than 90 percent of the Kashmiri people.
4.
The people of Kashmir have completely rejected the elite’s administration, and they have defeated the repressive armed forces brought in from Pakistan to protect that administration. Once the Long March breaks the siege of Rawlakot and advances, the entire balance of power will shift decisively in favour of the movement and the Committee. At that point, authority and power will pass from the hands of the rulers into the hands of the Committee – although, in reality, the Committee and the movement already constitute the true centre of power.
The Committee would then simply have to formally declare the authority it has effectively already won. It would announce that – with the support of more than ninety percent of the Kashmiri people – an Awami Inqalabi Government [People’s Revolutionary Government] is being established. It would place all resources under collective ownership, abolish all privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, and ensure employment, free education, free healthcare, and all other basic necessities for the people.
To accomplish this, the committees would take charge of all administrative affairs in every district and formally establish the Awami governing structure, which already exists in the form of these committees.
At the same time, the Revolutionary Government would appeal to the workers of Pakistan, declaring that this struggle is not only for the rights of the people of Kashmir but also for the rights of Pakistan’s workers and poor. It would call upon them to recognise that our struggle is one and the same, urging them to advance across Pakistan in the fight against the injustices of this system, with the assurance that together, shoulder to shoulder, we will achieve victory.
5.
Calling for the removal of the current government only to replace it with another interim government composed of the same elite amounts to asking the people, after their immortal struggle, to submit once again to another faction of the same ruling class. Therefore, the Committee must, without hesitation or uncertainty, place its trust in the power of the people. It must declare the establishment of an Awami Inqalabi Government, based on the right of ownership and the right to govern.
The establishment of an Awami Inqalabi Government in Kashmir, together with the guarantee of free basic services for all, could become a beacon of hope for workers throughout Pakistan and the wider region. It could ignite revolutionary movements across the region, inspiring working people everywhere to follow the example of the Kashmiri people and begin a revolutionary struggle to bring this oppressive system to an end once and for all.
In this way, the victory of the people in Kashmir could become an important milestone on the road towards a Socialist Federation of the Indian Subcontinent.
March forward, united, on the road to victory!
With revolutionary greetings,
Inqalabi Communist Party
13 July 2026
We appeal to the workers of the world to support us in this struggle, as much as you can. This is the struggle of every worker across the world and its victory is the victory of the working class of the world in their struggle against the bloodthirsty capitalist system.
Workers of the world, unite!
