Overview
- A territory-wide shutdown left daily life at a standstill on Friday as authorities closed main roads, restricted media and imposed an internet and satellite blackout.
- Officials say the unrest has killed at least 24 people and left dozens wounded while regional police chief Liaqat Ali Malik reported four officers killed, 97 wounded and 515 people detained.
- The protests began ahead of a June 9 strike called by the Joint Awami Action Committee in opposition to reserving 12 of the assembly’s 45 seats for refugees displaced from Indian-administered Kashmir.
- The shutdown has shut ATMs and petrol stations, stopped banking and left day labourers without income, deepening hardship for blue-collar households and small businesses.
- The confrontation poses a political challenge for Islamabad as thousands of JAAC supporters encamp near Rawalakot and the crisis raises the risk of further clashes before the July 27 regional election.