Islamabad, July 7 (IANS) Amid escalating unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the number of protesters killed or reported missing following unprovoked firing by Pakistani security forces on peaceful demonstrators since June 9 has risen to 56, sources have revealed.

The protesters, meanwhile, continue to cite shortages of food and medicines apart from arbitrary detentions, police excesses, and repeated raids on private homes. The Pakistani authorities have adopted a “hard-line approach”, imposing food and medicine blockades apart from completely shutting down media and internet services in the occupied territory.

Nearly one month after the proscription of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the crisis in PoK has worsened, with protestors continuing to press resolution of all outstanding demands, including the contentious issue of abolition of 12 refugee seats.

The protestors have now gathered around six permanent sit-in sites in the Rawalakot district, including Darek Eidgah, Singola, Motialmara, Paniola, Mujahidabad, and Rawalakot Bus Terminal, marked by increased participation by women, elderly citizens, and children, underscoring the movement’s r​esilience despite sustained pressure from the authorities, details have emerged.

The JAAC has also called for a boycott of Legislative Assembly elections in PoK. JAAC core committee member Umar Nazir Kashmiri announced on June 29 that activists and people associated with the Public Rights movement would boycott the upcoming elections scheduled for July 27, arguing that meaningful elections could not take place under the prevailing circumstances.

Another JAAC leader, Sardar Aman, warned that if the government restrictions and blockades continued, the movement could explore opening alternative supply and communication routes through the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to sustain the protest camps.

During his recent public addresses, Aman has alleged that the Pakistani military has indoctrinated youth in PoK and encouraged them to start an armed rebellion against India in Jammu and Kashmir.

The situation in PoK has moved beyond a simple law and order problem, with JAAC successfully uniting the fragmented divisions under a single banner.

The Pakistani security establishment, by banning the JAAC, has inadvertently closed the door​ on negoti​ations, leaving the streets as the only venue for political discourse.

Experts noted that with Legislative Assembly elections in PoK slated to be held on July 27, the Pakistani authorities’ refusal to address the fundamental issue of refugee seats is likely to make the security situation volatile in the region in the coming days.

The killing of innocent civilians by Pakistani security forces in PoK has also evoked a sharp reaction from the Kashmiri diaspora living in the UK and other countries, including Canada, Denmark, Australia, Germany, and the US.

People have been protesting outside the Pakistani missions in the cities of the UK, including London, Manchester, Bradford, and Birmingham, which has attracted significant international attention.

The British Kashmiris, including women, children and foreigners, on July 5 participated in the London Long March, which emanated from Parliament Square and culminated at Pakistan’s High Commission in London.

Apart from members of the Kashmiri diaspora, leaders from other dissident groups, including Baloch nationalists, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) UK chapter, and the World Sindhi Congress, also joined the solidarity long march and raised slogans against the Pakistani army. More than 10,000 people participated in the march.

The crackdown on innocent Kashmiris by Pakistani security forces, experts reckon, has exposed Pakistan’s longstanding propaganda that the interests of Kashmiri Muslims are best served with Pakistan.

–IANS

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