ISLAMABAD: Clashes erupted between police and protesters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Rawalakot city on Monday, eyewitnesses said, as supporters of a recently banned civil rights group attempted to march toward the regional capital.
The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which was banned under anti-terrorism laws last month, has led protests in recent weeks that have turned violent, leaving about 30 people dead.
JAAC, which previously focused on economic and governance reforms, has shifted its attention to demanding the abolition of 12 Azad Kashmir assembly seats reserved for refugees. The group argues that these seats allow Pakistan’s mainstream political parties to influence government formation in AJK. Pakistani authorities deny it.
Thousands of JAAC supporters, who were camped out on the outskirts of Rawalakot, on Monday attempted to enter the city on their way to regional capital Muzaffarabad, leading to clashes with law enforcers. Video circulating online, which could not be independently verified, showed police tear-gassing the protesters.
“We are fighting for our rights. And we will move forward peacefully,” JAAC member Umar Nazir told supporters in Rawalakot.
Police said two officials were injured, while JAAC member Faheem Akber told Arab News that five protesters were killed in Monday’s clashes.
The claims could not be independently verified.
The violence coincided with the first phase of general election in the region’s Mirpur division.
The chief election commissioner last week announced general election in the region will be held in three phases from July 27 across different divisions, following weeks of unrest in the internationally disputed region administered by Pakistan.
JAAC boycotted the election.
The rights group’s campaign suffered a setback last month when the AJK Supreme Court observed that the reserved seats enjoy constitutional protection and cannot be abolished through executive or administrative action.
