Tensions escalated sharply in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) amid widespread anti-Islamabad protests, as Pakistan Rangers opened fire on demonstrators, killing one person and injuring several others, according to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) PoJK unit.
The violence came after a severe government crackdown that led to the arrest of over 600 civil rights activists.
In a series of posts on X, the PTI PoJK unit said protests were continuing across the region, demanding basic rights and expressing solidarity with an ongoing sit-in in Rawalakot.
“Hundreds of people, including women, participated in the protest in Charhoi,” the party stated.In a separate incident, PTI reported that Pakistan Police and Rangers used force against protesters in Amb village of Dadyal tehsil in Mirpur district.
“Police and Rangers’ shelling and firing on peaceful protesters at Dadyal Amb’s location. One person martyred and multiple individuals injured due to Rangers’ firing,” the party stated in a separate post.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the rights group that called the protest on Sunday, also stated that tensions escalated across the region, noting that one person was killed and several others were injured after Pakistani security forces opened fire and used shelling against protesters in the area.
According to the JAAC, thousands of people, including women, children and the elderly, gathered at Sardar Ghulam Hussain Khan Sports Stadium in Abbaspor as part of a wider protest movement demanding basic rights and the release of detained leaders, including JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir.
The committee stated that Pakistani security forces resorted to firing and shelling to disperse peaceful demonstrators, leaving several people critically injured.
The JAAC said large protest caravans continued to reach the sit-in site in Rawalakot, while demonstrations were also held in several other areas of PoJK. It said members of the Kashmiri diaspora staged protests in Auckland, New Zealand, demanding the release of detained activists.
This planned mobilisation comes in response to a series of heavy-handed actions by Pakistani authorities.
On June 30, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) strongly criticised Islamabad after a political delegation led by opposition leaders was prevented from entering PoJK, calling it another instance of the state suppressing democratic rights and political dissent.
Activists have accused Pakistani forces of using drones to conduct surveillance on ongoing sit-in protests. In response, local leaders have called for a complete boycott of the local elections scheduled for July 27.
The JAAC has urged people to hold peaceful demonstrations across PoJK, asking protesters to carry white flags while demanding fundamental rights.
Separately, PoJK activist Amjad Ayub Mirza claimed that more than 600 JAAC workers and activists have been arrested following the detention of its leader, Shaukat Nawaz Mir.
He added that protests against Pakistan’s actions are being organised both inside PoJK and abroad.
“The situation in Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is deteriorating by the hour. After the arrest of Joint Awami Action Committee leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir, over 600 workers and activists of the committee have been detained so far,” Mirza said.
Meanwhile, global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has strongly condemned Pakistan’s crackdown ahead of the regional elections. The organisation accused authorities of using violent tactics to suppress peaceful dissent and violating fundamental human rights.
Amnesty also criticised the decision to ban the JAAC by declaring it a “proscribed organisation,” describing the move as a disproportionate attack on freedom of association and peaceful political activism.
(with ANI inputs)
