UK national killed by Pak forces in POK, another in jail since 2 months

A British national was shot dead by Pakistani security forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) during a clash with protesters. Meanwhile, another British citizen has been detained in a prison in Mirpur for more than two months amid the ongoing unrest in the region illegally occupied by Pakistan.

The killings and detentions come as the Indian region, illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1948, has been engulfed in protests for months led by the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), with demonstrators demanding economic relief and greater political representation.

Mohammad Akhtar, a resident of Peterborough (a city 119 km north of London), was killed on June 9 while he was in Kotli, near the area where large-scale clashes had erupted between Pakistani forces and protesters, according to a report in the London-based newspaper The Guardian on Monday (August 10).

Fifty-year-old Akhtar's family told the newspaper that Pakistani security forces opened fire on a gathering of protesters demanding economic and electoral reforms in POK. The family alleged that Akhtar's death was caused by the firing by the forces.

Akhtar's cousin Mohammad Saad said that the UK national was in Kotli but was not participating in the demonstrations. He was struck by a stray bullet near his home.

"There was firing by the forces that day, and he [Akhtar] was hit by a stray bullet," Saad told The Guardian, adding that his cousin Akhtar suffered a bullet wound to the side of his chest.

The family did not pursue the matter with British authorities, Saad said, after they were unable to register a police complaint in POK and feared they could be targeted if the case received further attention.

BRITISH NATIONAL IMPRISONED IN POK SINCE JUNE

Another British national, Waqas Arif from the city of Nottingham, has been in a prison in Mirpur for more than two months after being detained following protests on June 5, according to The Guardian.

Arif's family told The Guardian that he had not participated in the demonstrations. His sister Sumera alleged that Pakistani security forces and Rangers entered their home and detained her brother.

"There is no charge. He hasn't done anything," she said, adding that she believed many others had also been imprisoned in an effort to weaken the protests.

Arif's wife, Varisha Kampulvi, said British authorities had been unable to establish direct contact with him since his detention.

An email on June 26 from the UK's Foreign Office to Kampulvi said consular staff had contacted Pakistani officials at the prison and had been told that Arif was in good health, although they had not been able to speak to him directly.

POK ENGULFED BY PROTESTS SINCE JUNE

The killing of a British citizen and the continued incarceration of another comes amid a wider crackdown by Pakistani authorities against supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil society group that has led protests in POK demanding economic and political reforms.

According to reports, nearly 90 protesters have been killed by Pakistani security personnel in its illegally occupied territory.

The agitation, spearheaded by the JAAC, initially focused on demands for relief from high electricity tariffs and increased allocations of subsidised flour. It has since expanded to include a call for scrapping the reservation of 12 seats in POK's so-called Assembly for refugees from Kashmir and are settled in Pakistan.

While protests have waxed and waned since June, the POK has witnessed fresh demonstrations and violence since the three-phased polls began on July 27. India's Ministry of External Affairs has described the elections in the region illegally occupied by Pakistan as a "complete farce" and criticised Islamabad's heavy-handed response, including the liberal use of violence to suppress the growing unrest.

Pakistani authorities have designated the JAAC as a terrorist organisation. The hybrid regime's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has nevertheless indicated that Islamabad remains open to talks with the JAAC.

UK, UN EXPRESS CONCERNS ON POK VIOLENCE

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) was quoted by The Guardian as saying that it was "deeply concerned" about the situation in parts of POK, adding that British ministers and the UK High Commissioner in Islamabad were in contact with their Pakistani counterparts.

The Guardian reported that former Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer raised the situation in POK during talks in Islamabad in June, while current Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty has also been in contact with Pakistani officials.

Also in June, news agency PTI reported that at least 30 British MPs had written to the British government to "engage proactively and use all appropriate diplomatic channels to encourage de-escalation and a peaceful resolution" of the situation.

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) Deputy Spokesperson for Secretary-General Farhan Haq said that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supported the work of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and hoped his appeals regarding the situation would be heeded.

Turk had, on July 17, expressed concern over the developments in POK and called for an impartial and thorough investigation into the deaths of protesters, Pakistan's ban on the JAAC, and the arrest of its leaders. In a statement issued in Geneva last month, Turk also appealed for calm ahead of the so-called elections at the end of July.

The escalating crackdown by security forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has targeted not only protesters but also foreign nationals who were not involved in the agitation.

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