Jammu & Kashmir has more freedom than Pakistan, says US report

US-based independent watchdog Freedom House has asserted that the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir enjoys more freedom than Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) contrary to allegations levelled by Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan.
In its recently-released annual report, Freedom in the World 2019, the watchdog said Jammu & Kashmir scored 49 on the 100-point Freedom House Index, while Pakistan scored 39 and PoK a paltry 28. The report also labelled PoK as “not free” in terms of freedom enjoyed by its residents and the functioning of local institutes.

The US was rated 86 on the index, closely followed by India at 75.

Germany and France scored higher than the US as Freedom House expressed concern over the state of affairs in America.

Interestingly, Somaliland scored 43 on the scale and was ahead of Pakistan.

While the report termed Pakistan as “partly free”, it labelled India a “free” country along side the US, several European nations, Japan, Australia, South Africa and several Latin American countries.

"Pakistan’s elections were more competitive... influence over the media... was widely thought to have tilted the contest in favour of Imran Khan, who took office as prime minister," the report said.

"Pakistan holds regular elections under a competitive multi-party political system. However, the military exerts enormous influence over security and other policy issues, intimidates the media, and enjoys impunity for indiscriminate or extralegal use of force. The authorities impose selective restrictions on civil liberties, and Islamist militants carry out attacks on religious minorities and other perceived opponents," the Freedom House had said in its report in 2018, highlighting malice in Pakistan's polity.

The Freedom House report with focus on “democracy in retreat” said in 2018, freedom in the world recorded the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. Domestic attacks on key institutions—the judiciary, the media, and electoral mechanisms—are undermining the foundations of democracy, the report said.

It said at the same time, a global assault on the norms of democracy, led by an increasingly assertive China, challenges their spread around the world. Only by strengthening democracy at home and standing together in its defence around the world can democracies protect their values and preserve their ability to expand freedom globally, the report said.

It also said that the internet and other digital technologies have become ubiquitous as a means of accessing information, communicating, and participating in public debates. Consequently, technology and social media companies play an increasingly important role in sustaining—or weakening—democracy.