Muzaffarabad: Tensions in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoJK) escalated on Wednesday after deadly clashes on Tuesday left 12 people dead and authorities reinforced security ahead of a high-profile protest march to Muzaffarabad. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which Islamabad has declared a proscribed armed group, pressed on with its campaign despite heavy deployments, reported restrictions and accusations of violent reprisals.
Two separate confrontations in the Poonch Division on Tuesday killed 10 civilians and two security personnel, BBC Urdu said, citing officials who identified one victim as a Ranger and another as a police officer. The violence came a day before JAAC planned a long march from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad, the administrative centre of POK, with organisers claiming tens of thousands intended to participate, as reported by India Today.
Authorities sealed cities and, according to BBC Urdu, imposed an effective media blackout on Rawalakot by barring journalists from entering. Local officials have positioned nearly 4,000 Rangers, police and Frontier Corps troops along key routes, saying the march “will not be allowed” to reach Muzaffarabad.
State Narrative, JAAC Rebuttal
Pakistani officials and pro-establishment media blamed armed JAAC activists for the clashes. Police alleged that after failing to drum up public backing, the group resorted to indiscriminate firing near the New Bus Terminal to shift blame onto security forces. Dawn reported two law-enforcement personnel were “martyred” and said seven JAAC activists were killed during a clearance operation.
The JAAC rejected the accusations on X, saying it was not behind the killings and denying responsibility for the Rangers’ death. “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 wrote.
It also accused security forces of staging attacks by using personnel in plain clothes to fire on civilians and then blame protesters: “Forces have deployed their armed men in civilian clothes at various places and are having them fire shots to create the impression that these are people from the Action Committee. The Action Committee belongs to the people, and the people are peaceful; they have no weapons.”
From Targeted Protest To Broader Unrest
What began as protests over reserved assembly seats and claims of discrimination by the JAAC has escalated into one of the largest anti-government movements the area has seen in years. The demonstrations now call for sweeping political and economic reforms, and participants report shortages of food and medicine. JAAC leaders contend that the Pakistani hybrid regime has deliberately blocked supplies for weeks and have appealed to India for humanitarian aid.
India’s External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday described the unrest as evidence of Pakistan’s “systemic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights and administrative oppression” in territories under its “illegal and forcible occupation,” and urged the international community to hold Islamabad accountable.
