Eight civilians were killed Wednesday after a third consecutive day of violent protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir against the Pakistani government. Four people were killed in Dhirkot in Bagh district, sources told NDTV, while two others died in Muzaffarabad and two in Mirpur.
Two more deaths were reported Tuesday, also from Muzaffarabad, taking the total to 10.
PoJK has been wracked by massive protests – led by the Joint Awami Action Committee over the ‘denial of fundamental rights’ – in the past 72 hours, including a complete shutdown of markets, shops, and local businesses, as well as a halt on transport services.
This morning protestors threw stones and large shipping containers – strategically placed on bridges to block their march on Muzaffarabad – were tossed into the river below.
Visuals showed dozens of protesters uniting to push them off the bridge.
Sources said the JAAC has blamed the Muzaffarabad deaths on Pak Rangers opening fire, and the others on heavy shelling by Pak security forces, including the Army, on civilians.
The protesters – whose ‘long march’ on Muzaffarabad continues despite the crackdown – have 38 demands, which include abolition of 12 seats in the PoJK Assembly reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan. Locals argue this undermines representative governance.
“Our campaign is for fundamental rights denied to our people for over 70 years… either deliver on rights or face the wrath of the people,” JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir said.
Sources also said a few caravans of protesters had broken through blockades to reach Muzaffarabad; visuals of large crowds gathered emerged on social media this morning.
Mir also delivered an ominous warning to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration.
He said the strike was ‘plan A’ – a message that the people’s patience has run out and the authorities were now on notice. The JAAC has back-up plans and a severe ‘plan D’.
Regarding the Muzaffarabad firing, the JAAC has said the Muslim Conference – reportedly backed by Pak’s intel agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence – be labelled a terrorist group. The AAC also wants financial compensation and a government job for the families of those killed.
This amount, they have insisted, must equal the amount paid to the families of two police officers who were killed during these protests. The committee’s seven-point list of demands over the PoJK unrest includes the release from prison of protesters arrested in Kashmir and Pakistan.