A clash erupted between police and protestors in Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) amid demonstrations against power cuts and soaring inflation. The Skirmish in Mirpur district left multiple injured and prompted Pakistani authorities to impose a curfew.
Dozens of protestors expressed outrage over deployment of the FC and Ranger Troops in POJK’s Muzaffarabad and chased away the police. Reports indicate tear gas shells firings on school students in Mirpur. Denouncing the state brutality human rights activists decried state-sponsored violence by Pakistani federal authorities as a tactic to enforce Section 144 and a prelude to quell protests scheduled for May 11 outside the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad.
United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP) condemned the arrests and the imposition of Article 144 in the region illegally occupied by Pakistan. POJK based UKPNP also strongly condemned the recent arrests of activists including Ali Shamriaz and the imposition of Article 144 in POJK. Rights groups raised concerns about the safety of prisoners who were allegedly subjected to brutal beatings and torture by Pak authorities.
UKPNP leaders including Shaukat Ali Kashmiri and Nasir Aziz Khan expressed dismay at the crackdown on peaceful activists and heavy deployment of security forces. UKPNP leaders demanded the immediate release of all arrested activists and urged the UN and human rights organisations to intervene urgently to address the worsening situation in POJK.
Since the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Kashmir remains a point of contention between Pakistan and India. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the human rights situation in the illegally occupied region has not received much attention amid continued human rights abuses.
Due to the limited national media presence in POJK, there is less coverage, resulting in no significant documentation available to assess the state of human rights in the region. Last year, POJK experienced severe human rights violations amid widespread protests against the government’s decision to withdraw subsidies on wheat flour and increase electricity prices. The crackdown on activists and demonstrators led to arrests, with accusations of torture in custody.
