New Delhi: The Pakistan government reportedly launched a fresh crackdown on protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Rawalakot this week, with multiple accounts alleging drone use on protesters. The fresh strikes Thursday left seven people dead and around 23 injured.
On Thursday, personnel of the Pakistan Rangers, Frontier Corps and local police moved to disperse sit-ins organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the grassroots coalition leading months of anti-government protests in PoK.
There have been allegations that armed drones were deployed during the crackdown, with some protesters claiming that RPG-7 rocket fire was directed at residential areas.
Protests in the region have been ongoing since June 2026, led by the JAAC, which has been banned under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism law. The committee has put forward a 38-point charter of demands, calling for lower electricity and wheat prices, improved healthcare and education, greater employment opportunities and political autonomy, as well as the removal of 12 reserved seats in the region’s legislative assembly.
More than 150 people have reportedly died in connection with the protests since early June, amid recurring allegations of excessive use of force, enforced disappearances and communication blackouts.
The crackdown Thursday intensified protests in the region.
Houses ablaze
Videos circulating on social media after the crackdown showed houses ablaze near protest sites at Matialmera Bus Terminal and Umar Farooq Chowk in the region. JAAC leader Sardar Umar Nazir displayed what he described as bomb fragments recovered after alleged drone strikes on residential properties and protest camps.
Videos and eyewitness accounts circulating on X described a tense situation in Rawalakot. Local journalists alleged that a young man and a woman died when Pakistani security forces opened fire near the bus terminal. The reports could not be independently verified.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed concern over reports of fresh violence in Rawalakot, citing allegations of casualties among both protesters and law enforcement personnel.
https://x.com/HRCP87/status/
In a statement posted on X, the commission referred to its August fact-finding mission to PoK and urged the federal and local governments to prevent further deterioration and begin meaningful dialogue to address citizens’ grievances.
Senior JAAC leader Umar Nazir said the “Pakistani media, Pakistani institutions, army chief Asim Munir, PM Shehbaz Sharif, will have to answer for this in this world and the hereafter”.
“Today, you have declared unarmed citizens as terrorists and committed mass killings in Kashmir, which is under your administration, for demanding basic rights of the people, clean water for drinking, health facilities, education, and the right to ownership and governance. You have martyred nearly 100 young people. You are going to answer to the countries of the world.”
Also Read: PoK polls: 90 civilians killed in 2 months, Pakistan’s justification—protesters ‘enemies like India’
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)