Central Leader And Former Spokesperson of Jammu Kashmir Peoples National Party (JKPNP) exile Leader Habib Rehman Speak at 58 session UNHRC Geneva through video link on issue of Democratic Values and Minority Rights in the Global South Challenges and Perspectives.
Honorable Guests, Distinguished Scholars, and Respected Audience,
It is an honor to stand before you today to discuss an urgent and complex issue—the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and human rights in Pakistani-occupied Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), within the broader context of the Global South. AI is transforming governance, surveillance, and access to information, but it is also being used in ways that can significantly impact fundamental rights, particularly in regions with contested sovereignty and political unrest, such as AJK.
AI and Human Rights: A Global Perspective
Artificial Intelligence is a double-edged sword. It has the potential to enhance governance, security, and development, yet it also poses serious threats to privacy, freedom of speech, and fundamental human rights. In the Global South—where political institutions often lack transparency, and where socio-political conflicts persist—the unregulated use of AI technology can become a tool for surveillance, suppression, and manipulation.
Many authoritarian regimes and quasi-autonomous regions have leveraged AI-driven surveillance systems, data tracking, and automated misinformation campaigns to control narratives and suppress dissent. In fragile regions such as AJK, this risk is significantly heightened due to the lack of independent oversight and the geopolitical interests of external actors.
Human Rights Violations in AJK: The Role of AI
Pakistani-occupied AJK has long been a region where fundamental human rights are challenged. Reports from independent human rights organizations have documented curbs on freedom of expression, enforced disappearances, and suppression of political activists. AI has increasingly been integrated into these mechanisms of control in the following ways:
Surveillance and Digital Monitoring:
AI-powered facial recognition and mass surveillance systems are reportedly being used to monitor activists, journalists, and opposition voices in AJK.
Pakistan’s collaboration with foreign technology providers, including those from China, raises concerns about digital authoritarianism, where AI is used to track individuals and restrict their movements.
Censorship and Information Manipulation:
Social media platforms, which could serve as a space for dissent, are being monitored through AI-driven algorithms to detect and suppress criticism of the Pakistani administration in AJK.
AI is also used in disinformation campaigns to control narratives and erase human rights abuses from public discourse.
Predictive Policing and Arbitrary Arrests:
Predictive policing models powered by AI can lead to the arbitrary targeting of activists and opposition figures under the guise of national security.
AI-based forensic tools are increasingly being used to fabricate digital evidence against individuals who question Pakistani policies in AJK.
The Global South and the Ethical AI Challenge
AI’s impact on human rights in AJK is part of a larger ethical dilemma facing the Global South. Many developing nations lack strong data protection laws, independent judiciary systems, and civil society organizations capable of resisting the misuse of AI. When AI is controlled by authoritarian governments, corporations, or external powers, its ability to enhance democracy is replaced by its potential for oppression.
Unlike wealthier nations that have begun implementing AI ethics regulations, countries in the Global South remain vulnerable to exploitative technology imports that prioritize control over individual freedoms. The absence of transparent AI governance frameworks in Pakistan and its occupied territories like AJK exacerbates these vulnerabilities.
The Way Forward: AI for Human Rights Protection
Advocacy for Digital Rights: Human rights organizations, both regional and global, must demand greater transparency and accountability in AI deployments in AJK. The international community should pressure Pakistan to implement legal safeguards against digital authoritarianism.
Global AI Governance and Regulation: The United Nations and other global institutions must advocate for a responsible AI governance framework that prevents the misuse of AI for surveillance and censorship in politically unstable regions like AJK.
Technological Sovereignty for the Global South: Instead of relying on AI imports from powerful countries with vested interests, the Global South, including South Asia, must invest in independent AI research and ethical AI policies that serve the interests of human rights, democracy, and privacy.
Digital Literacy and Public Awareness: Civil society in AJK and other Global South regions must be educated on digital rights and AI ethics to push back against technology-enabled human rights violations.
Conclusion
The AI revolution must not come at the cost of human rights. In Pakistani-occupied AJK, AI is increasingly being used as a tool of surveillance, censorship, and control, rather than empowerment. The Global South, with its rich history of resisting colonialism and oppression, must now rise to another challenge: resisting the weaponization of AI against its people.
We must call for international oversight, ethical AI policies, and an unwavering commitment to digital human rights. AI should be an instrument of justice, development, and democracy—not oppression. The fate of regions like AJK depends on how we, as a global society, choose to wield this powerful technology.
