🇵🇰 In 2015, when Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan for troops, warplanes and warships for its war in Yemen, Pakistan's parliament debated the request for days and unanimously voted to stay neutral, amid broad public opposition. On Monday, Pakistan agreed to "rapid deployment" of forces to Saudi Arabia under the Makkah defense pact, as fighting with Ansar Allah escalates. No parliamentary debate or vote on the deployment has been reported. Since 2015, power in Pakistan has shifted sharply toward the military. Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was made Chief of Defense Forces and given lifetime legal immunity under a 2025 constitutional amendment, while former Prime Minister Imran Khan, overwhelmingly the most popular figure in the country, remains in prison.

🇵🇰 The Pakistani military has imposed a communications blackout as it conducts a violent siege aimed at crushing a movement for electoral reform in Azad Kashmir, the nominally self-governing political territory administered by Pakistan. Local authorities and hospitals have not released an official count of civilians killed. Though Amnesty International estimated that at least 40 people had been killed, residents who spoke to Drop Site said the figure was a significant undercount. Harris Qadeer, editor of the local newspaper Roznama Jeddojehad, told Drop Site that he had documented 89 deaths in Rawalakot and Mirpur as of July 28 through first-hand accounts of funerals and burials, as well as death records maintained by a civil society group leading the protests. “45 people were killed before July 27, and a list of their names was compiled by consulting their family members. An additional 37 people were killed on July 27 and 28,” Qadeer said. He added that paramilitary forces killed another 22 civilians on Monday and 13 more the following day. The region has remained under curfew and a complete internet blackout since June 5, 2026. Food and medicine have been blocked from entering, while grocery stores have been prohibited from opening. Announcements broadcast from local mosque loudspeakers warn that anyone violating the curfew, including women and children, will be shot. 🔗 Read @AreebaFatimaa’s report for Drop Site News: State Killings in Pakistan as Kashmir Erupts in Protest⁠

⚡️NEW from @DropSiteNews: State Killings in Pakistan as Kashmir Protest Movement Grows The Pakistani military has imposed a communications blackout as it conducts a violent siege aimed at crushing a movement for electoral reform in Azad Kashmir. Story by @AreebaFatimaa dropsitenews.com/p/state-kil…