Pakistan refers to the illegally occupied region as ‘Azad’ Jammu and Kashmir.“Such yellow journalism only confirms the agenda of external actors with vested interests who are attempting to delegitimise this electoral exercise and undermine the popular will of the people of Muzaffarabad and AJK, clearly demonstrated today in their rejection of anarchy and coercion.”Later, multiple users across Pakistan said they were unable to access Al Jazeera’s English-language website shortly after the network aired extensive reporting from the disputed region.Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported from Muzaffarabad on widespread protests, low voter turnout and allegations that heavy security deployments, roadblocks and communications disruptions had affected the electoral process.In one report, Hyder said many residents viewed the low turnout as an expression of solidarity with the protest movement. “People are disgusted with the system. They got fed up,” a local resident told the broadcaster.Al Jazeera was among the few major international news organisations to devote sustained coverage to the unrest, reporting on internet shutdowns, curfews, road closures and allegations by protesters that the elections were conducted under conditions that undermined their credibility. Pakistani authorities have rejected accusations of wrongdoing and defended the security measures as necessary to maintain public order.The first public claims that the broadcaster had been blocked came from Sohaib Khan, a former official of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front’s AJK-GB chapter, who said on X that Al Jazeera’s English-language website had become inaccessible after its reporting from the region.