ISLAMABAD: A banned protest group at the center of deadly unrest in Azad Kashmir said on Wednesday at least 31 of its supporters had been killed in a security crackdown while federal and regional government officials maintained the group had carried out violent attacks during elections for the region’s constitutional assembly.
The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) raised its claimed death toll from 25 a day earlier after clashes overshadowed the first phase of legislative elections in the Himalayan region disputed between India and Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities say two security personnel were killed during the violence.
JAAC rose to prominence last year over grievances including electricity tariffs, governance and economic rights. More recently, it has focused its campaign on 12 seats in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir, arguing the arrangement allows Pakistan-based political parties to influence the formation of the regional government. Authorities say the seats are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment.
In a video statement from Rawalakot, JAAC core committee member Sardar Umar Nazir alleged Pakistani security forces had opened fire on unarmed demonstrators during the group’s march toward Muzaffarabad, killing around 20 supporters on Monday and wounding more than 400 people.
Nazir also claimed at least 11 more protesters were killed on Tuesday in separate incidents in Rawalakot, Mirpur and nearby areas, raising the group’s overall death toll to 31.
“Our demand was peaceful, it was peaceful, we tried to keep it non-violent, and bullets were fired at it,” Nazir said.
“We have no struggle against any government, any institution, against Pakistan. Our struggle is for our fundamental rights.”
He said the movement would continue despite the crackdown.
“No matter how much oppression and tyranny you do, we will continue our march,” Nazir said.
The now weeks-old protest encampment has overshadowed the election, with residents reporting low voter turnout in Monday’s first phase, when polling was held for several assembly seats in the city of Mirpur.
Voting began Monday and is being held in phases through Aug. 10.
“RIOTERS, NOT PROTESTERS”
Nazir’s statement came hours after Pakistan’s federal government defended the Azad Kashmir administration’s handling of the unrest and said those involved would no longer be treated as protesters.
“This is no longer a protest movement. We will handle this in a completely different way now,” Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said in televised remarks on Tuesday night.
“They will not be considered protesters; they will be considered rioters. On rioters, the state there will use the power of the law available to it.”
Chaudhry alleged authorities had recovered automatic weapons, including M4 rifles, Kalashnikovs and sniper rifles, from those arrested, and said one suspect had recently arrived from abroad and was a trained marksman. He did not provide evidence to support the claims.
Speaking alongside Chaudhry, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the government believed the violence vindicated its decision to ban JAAC, accusing the group of attempting to disrupt what he described as a peaceful election.
“From day one we were saying that this is not a peaceful protest,” Tarar said. “This is an extremist group, these are militants.”
He also alleged, without providing evidence, that the group was operating on a foreign agenda and receiving funding from neighboring India.
Police told Arab News on Tuesday JAAC supporters had attempted to march into Rawalakot despite repeated warnings to disperse and opened fire on security personnel. They said demonstrators attacked a security post, torched police and military vehicles and attempted to disrupt the electoral process after polling in the first phase of the election had ended.
JAAC has rejected those allegations.
The regional government banned JAAC last month under anti-terrorism laws, accusing it of involvement in violent activities, a charge the group denies.
