Pakistan deploys thousands of forces as POK protests intensify ahead of march.
Violent clashes leave civilians and security personnel dead amid competing claims.
India condemns Pakistan’s crackdown, citing rights violations and systemic oppression.
Pakistan has deployed around 4,000 Rangers, police and Frontier Corps personnel to stop a planned protest march to Muzaffarabad by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), as unrest intensified across Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), reported Dawn.
Violent clashes in the Poonch Division on Tuesday left 12 people dead, including 10 civilians and two security personnel, BBC Urdu reported. Authorities sealed several cities across POK to contain the unrest.
According to reports, authorities also imposed an undeclared media blackout in Rawalakot by preventing journalists from entering the city. JAAC leaders said at least 40,000 protesters are expected to march from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad from Wednesday afternoon.
Clashing Narratives Over Violence
Dawn reported that two law enforcement personnel died and seven JAAC activists were killed during a clearance operation. Police officers said the banned JAAC opened fire randomly near the New Bus Terminal to frame security forces.
The JAAC rejected these claims in a statement on X. "If we had intended to pick up guns, we would not have had to carry the bodies of so many of our unarmed brothers till today."
The committee accused the state of staging the violence. "Forces have deployed their armed men in civilian clothes...to create the impression that these are people from the Action Committee," the JAAC stated on X.
Protest Demands and Blockade
Protests began over seats reserved for outsiders and discrimination, snowballing into a wider anti-government agitation. JAAC demands include abolishing Assembly seats for Pakistan-based refugees, tax relief and a minimum monthly wage of 50,000 Pakistani rupees.
JAAC leaders said the Pakistan hybrid regime blocked food and medicine supplies for weeks, creating a severe humanitarian crisis.
Protest leader Sardar Aman Khan appealed to India for humanitarian help and raised the option of marching towards the Line of Control.
India Condemns Pakistan Actions
India accused Pakistan of using excessive force against protesters and urged the international community to hold Islamabad accountable for egregious abuses.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the protests reflect decades-long "systemic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights and administrative oppression".
