Two people were killed and 22 injured on Monday in violent clashes during protests in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where thousands have taken to the streets against Islamabad’s policies. Eyewitnesses and reports said armed thugs backed by the Pakistan Army and ISI-sponsored Muslim Conference opened fire on civilians demanding basic rights. Videos circulating online show gunmen firing in the air, protesters scaling cars, and locals displaying spent bullet shells as evidence of live fire.

The unrest, led by the Awami Action Committee (AAC), has triggered a region-wide shutdown. Shops, markets, and transport services remain closed, paralyzing daily life. Protesters have raised 38 demands, including the abolition of 12 PoK Assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan: a move locals believe distorts representative governance.

“Our campaign is for fundamental rights denied for over 70 years… either deliver on rights or face the wrath of the people,” AAC chief Shaukat Nawaz Mir declared. He warned that the strike was only “Plan A,” with harsher measures in reserve.

Islamabad has responded with force. Heavily armed troops have staged flag marches across PoK towns, and over 1,000 reinforcements have been dispatched from the capital. Additional battalions have been diverted from Punjab province, while internet services across the region face restrictions.

The crisis in PoK comes days after another tragedy, Pakistani Air Force JF-17 jets bombed a village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Chinese LS-6 precision-guided munitions, killing 30 civilians. The strikes, meant to target militants, deepened anger in an area already reeling from terror attacks by groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, who relocated after India’s Operation Sindoor.

With civil discontent spreading, Pakistan’s military crackdown risks igniting a larger uprising in its restive territories.

Two people were killed and 22 injured on Monday in violent clashes during protests in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where thousands have taken to the streets against Islamabad’s policies. Eyewitnesses and reports said armed thugs backed by the Pakistan Army and ISI-sponsored Muslim Conference opened fire on civilians demanding basic rights. Videos circulating online show gunmen firing in the air, protesters scaling cars, and locals displaying spent bullet shells as evidence of live fire.

The unrest, led by the Awami Action Committee (AAC), has triggered a region-wide shutdown. Shops, markets, and transport services remain closed, paralyzing daily life. Protesters have raised 38 demands, including the abolition of 12 PoK Assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan: a move locals believe distorts representative governance.

“Our campaign is for fundamental rights denied for over 70 years… either deliver on rights or face the wrath of the people,” AAC chief Shaukat Nawaz Mir declared. He warned that the strike was only “Plan A,” with harsher measures in reserve.

Islamabad has responded with force. Heavily armed troops have staged flag marches across PoK towns, and over 1,000 reinforcements have been dispatched from the capital. Additional battalions have been diverted from Punjab province, while internet services across the region face restrictions.

The crisis in PoK comes days after another tragedy, Pakistani Air Force JF-17 jets bombed a village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Chinese LS-6 precision-guided munitions, killing 30 civilians. The strikes, meant to target militants, deepened anger in an area already reeling from terror attacks by groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, who relocated after India’s Operation Sindoor.

With civil discontent spreading, Pakistan’s military crackdown risks igniting a larger uprising in its restive territories.