Chaos in PoK: Casualties Feared as Pakistan Rangers Open Fire on Rights Protesters

A heavy security crackdown has thrown Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) into deep unrest. Massive public demonstrations against the Pakistani federal government took a violent turn in the city of Rawalakot, where paramilitary Pakistan Rangers reportedly opened fire on thousands of gathered protesters.

Eyewitness accounts from the ground indicate multiple civilian casualties and severe injuries, driving immense fear and public anger across the territory. Local reports state that the unrest escalated dramatically after the state government placed a formal ban on the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), the primary rights group organising the civil movement.

The current wave of fury was sparked late Friday night near the Barmang Bridge, close to Rawalakot. Security forces intercepted a vehicle carrying prominent local rights leader Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri. While Nazir narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bullet grazed his ear, his close associate, activist Shahzeb Habib, was shot and killed.

News of the killing spread rapidly, bringing thousands of citizens onto the streets of Rawalakot to protest systemic oppression, economic exploitation, and the heavy-handed control of local resources by Islamabad.

In an effort to completely suppress the demonstrations ahead of a massive planned “Long March” to the regional capital of Muzaffarabad, the government labeled the peaceful rights alliance a terrorist organisation.

The state took several aggressive measures to contain the uprising like mass arrests, cutting off internet across major districts and border blocks. In retaliation to the arrests, angry local crowds blocked major entry points connecting the territory to Pakistan, putting cities like Rawalakot under a complete civil strike.

The clashes are the boiling point of a long-running, multi-year mass movement organised by the Awami Action Committee. The local population has been protesting severe inflation, skyrocketing electricity prices, and a distinct lack of political autonomy under Pakistani administration.

While leadership from the proscribed group has issued public audio messages urging the masses to remain peaceful despite severe provocations, the presence of outside paramilitary forces including the Punjab Constabulary and the Frontier Constabulary has drastically raised fears of an even larger military crackdown in the days ahead.