Deadly clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir kill 11 amid protest crackdown

Deadly street fighting in Pakistan-administered Kashmir left at least 11 people dead and more than 70 wounded after security forces moved to break up a protest linked to a banned civil society alliance. The violence in Rawalakot exposed how quickly a dispute over legislative seats turned into a test of the state’s authority in a disputed region already under tight control.

The immediate trigger was a Supreme Court ruling on June 8 that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment. That decision sharpened tensions ahead of elections for the 45-member Legislative Assembly, with nomination papers due from June 9 to June 19 and polling set for July 27.

The protest was organized by the Joint Awami Action Committee, also known as the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, a movement formed in 2023 that has gained support by channeling anger over flour, electricity costs and political representation. Its leaders argue that the refugee seats give people living in Pakistan disproportionate influence over local politics, a grievance that helped the alliance build a wider base despite official efforts to isolate it.

Authorities had already designated the group as a proscribed organization under the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Terrorism Act, 2014, suspended internet and mobile network signals in the region until June 12 and urged outsiders and tourists to leave. Amnesty International said journalist Sohrab Barkat was arrested on June 6 for allegedly promoting the movement on YouTube, underscoring how aggressively officials tried to contain both the protests and the narrative around them.

According to local officials, the clash began near a hospital morgue after supporters gathered around the body of another member killed in an earlier shooting. Police and paramilitary forces then moved in to disperse the crowd. Sardar Waheed Khan, the local commissioner, said four police officers and a passerby died after gunfire from what he called miscreants, while six protesters were killed in the authorities’ response. Police Chief Liaqat Malik said 23 security personnel and 50 protesters were among the injured, and 30 people were arrested.

Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the group’s leader, accused the state of a massacre in Rawalakot and said the movement would remain united for the June 9 lockdown. The grim toll, together with the shutdowns and arrests, suggests Islamabad’s grip on Pakistan-administered Kashmir is being challenged not only by street anger but by a deeper fight over who gets to shape the territory’s political future.