PoK unrest deepens as Pakistan rules out talks and brands protesters enemies

Islamabad,UPDATED: Jul 29, 2026 16:26 IST

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has ruled out talks with protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), calling them enemies of Pakistan "like India", as clashes between demonstrators and security personnel deepened the crisis. The banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) said on Wednesday that at least 20 of its activists had been killed and dozens injured since Monday.

Pakistan's authorities disputed the death toll and accused protesters of opening fire on security personnel. The unrest has come amid elections to the so-called PoK legislative assembly, with reports of violence, allegations of rigging and continuing protests by the JAAC over 12 contentious seats.

"There will be no dialogue with the protesters. I bracket them with India. I put them in the same category as India and consider them as enemies of Pakistan," Asif told reporters on Tuesday.

Separately, Prime Minister's Adviser Rana Sanaullah told reporters that the JAAC had met him and presented 38 demands. Alleging that the protesters wanted to seize Muzaffarabad and Mirpur by force, Sanaullah on Tuesday claimed that they were currently engaged in an "India-like attack". He also claimed that no one was killed in clashes between law enforcement personnel and protesters.

Shops and markets in Mirpur remained closed on Wednesday, BBC Urdu reported. In the first phase of elections on Monday for 13 seats in the so-called legislative assembly of PoK, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz secured nine seats. The second and third phases for the remaining 32 seats will be held on August 2 and 10. The contest in PoK is mainly between the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party because former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has boycotted the polls.

The first phase of the election was marked by violence and strong allegations of rigging. The PPP, which is in coalition with the PML-N at the Centre, alleged that the PML-N was handed a majority of the seats through large-scale rigging.

The JAAC has been holding protests in PoK since last month over 12 contentious seats in the so-called regional legislative assembly. It has alleged that the establishment manipulates these seats to install a prime minister of its choice. The group began protests and a long march across PoK on June 9. Before Monday's violence, 40 people had reportedly been killed in the unrest, including 34 protesters and six police and paramilitary personnel.

The JAAC, which held a long march from Rawalakot to the regional capital Muzaffarabad on Monday, claimed that its activists were killed when law enforcement personnel opened fire on participants. That claim could not be independently verified. JAAC core committee member Abid Shaheen told the BBC that around a dozen activists had been killed and more than 20 wounded during clashes on Monday. Another committee member, Imtiaz Aslam, said those killed included Usman Nazir, the younger brother of JAAC founding member Umar Nazir.

Shaheen said the bodies had been taken to a medical camp near Drek, where the JAAC has been holding a sit-in for one-and-a-half months. The JAAC also denied that its marchers were armed, saying they carried only sticks. PoK police chief Captain (retd.) Liaquat Ali Malik rejected that claim and alleged that protesters had modern weapons and were targeting security personnel. Malik said the reported deaths could not be verified until bodies were recovered, officially recorded or brought to hospitals for post-mortem examinations.

The government had opened negotiations with the JAAC before the legislative assembly elections, but the talks have not produced a settlement. Authorities have suspended internet services in the region, and there has been a complete media ban in Pakistan on coverage of the JAAC protest.

India on Tuesday described the elections as an attempt by Pakistan to hide its "grave" human rights violations in the region. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi, "India's position on this matter has been clear, consistent, and well known. The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, including the areas currently under Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation, are integral and inalienable parts of India." He added, "As we have stated earlier, the ongoing mass protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are the direct consequences of Pakistan's economic exploitation, its denial of the people's fundamental rights, and its administrative oppression."

The so-called PoK legislative assembly has 53 seats, of which 45 are directly elected and eight are reserved for women, technocrats and clerics. The latest clashes, the dispute over the death toll, the stalled talks and the election controversy together underline the continuing unrest in the region.

With PTI Inputs

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