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PoK Placed Under Lockdown After Security Forces Open Fire on JAAC Protests

The proscription of JAAC, arrests and a communications blackout have produced disputed casualty claims and raised urgent calls for independent probes ahead of regional elections.

Overview

  • Clashes in Rawalakot and other towns between June 7 and June 9 involved security forces firing on protesters and mourners, with reports of multiple civilians killed and hundreds injured while exact tolls remain contested.
  • PoK authorities declared the Joint Awami Action Committee a proscribed organisation, sealed its offices, detained many leaders and announced bounties for senior organisers.
  • Internet and mobile services have been suspended across parts of PoK and federal paramilitary units have been deployed as markets shut and streets remained largely empty in affected districts.
  • Amnesty International, the International Human Rights Foundation, Pakistan’s HRCP and India have condemned the crackdown and called for independent, transparent investigations and the restoration of communications.
  • The unrest grew from long‑running economic and political grievances, including JAAC’s 38‑point charter and its demand to abolish 12 reserved refugee assembly seats, and it now casts a shadow over PoK’s scheduled late‑July elections.