At least 11 people were killed and more than 70 injured after violent clashes broke out between police and supporters of a banned civil society alliance in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, officials said on Monday. The violence erupted a day before a planned protest over political representation and rights in the region.
The unrest began on Sunday in Rawalakot after tensions escalated over a recent court ruling concerning reserved legislative seats for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan.
Protest Erupts Over Refugee Seats in Assembly
The confrontation came after the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled that 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees in the regional legislative assembly are constitutionally protected and cannot be removed without a constitutional amendment.
The ruling angered supporters of the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a group that has long demanded greater political rights for residents of the region. The alliance opposes the refugee quota, arguing that people living outside Kashmir should not have disproportionate political influence over local affairs.
JAAC had planned a protest rally on Tuesday against the continuation of these reserved seats.
Police, Protesters Give Contradictory Versions
According to officials, violence intensified when protesters gathered outside a hospital morgue where the body of a JAAC supporter, allegedly killed in police firing earlier, had been taken.
Police accused JAAC supporters of attacking security personnel with firearms, petrol bombs and other weapons.
“Four police officers and a passer-by died after miscreants shot at them,” Poonch Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan said. He added, “As the result of the law enforcers’ response, six protesters were killed.”
Police Chief Liaqat Malik said 23 security personnel and around 50 protesters were among those injured. Authorities also confirmed that 30 people had been arrested following the clashes.
Officials further alleged that protesters damaged public and private property and disrupted services at a military hospital after surrounding the facility.
JAAC Calls It a ‘Massacre’
JAAC leaders strongly rejected the administration’s account and accused the authorities of carrying out a violent crackdown.
“The state has begun a massacre of our people in Rawalakot,” JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir said in a video message shared online. He vowed that the group would continue its planned June 9 protest despite the violence.
However, Commissioner Khan dismissed the allegation, saying the state action was aimed at restoring law and order.
“The JAAC leadership is misleading the masses by terming it a massacre,” he said.
Government Bans JAAC Ahead of Protest
The regional government had declared JAAC a proscribed organisation under anti-terror laws on Friday, days before the planned demonstration. Authorities also advised domestic and foreign tourists to leave the region before June 9 amid fears of unrest.
JAAC has led several large demonstrations in recent years, mostly over rising flour and electricity prices. Some of those protests turned deadly after confrontations with security forces.
The latest violence has further heightened tensions in the Himalayan region, which remains politically sensitive and disputed between India and Pakistan.
