PoK Erupts in Flames: Brutal Crackdown by Pakistani Forces Leaves Protesters Dead
MUZAFARABAD: Agency. The long-simmering unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) exploded into open defiance on Monday, as thousands of Kashmiri men and women poured into the streets demanding justice, dignity, and their fundamental rights.
What began as a peaceful protest soon turned bloody when Pakistani security forces opened fire on unarmed demonstrators. At least three people were killed and more than 22 were injured, as bullets ripped through the crowds.
The region, already strangled by poverty, hunger, unemployment, and decades of neglect, has now reached its breaking point. Shops, markets, and commercial establishments in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, and Rawalakot remained completely shut, with deserted streets bearing witness to a people’s collective anguish.
The strike, called by the Public Action Committee (Avami Action Committee), paralyzed daily life. Transport services were halted, communication networks were disrupted, and internet services were shut down by Islamabad in a desperate attempt to muzzle the voices of dissent.
Chants of Freedom Amid Brutal Repression
Eyewitness videos circulating on social media show seas of people shouting “Azadi” (Freedom) and “Pakistani Army, Go Back!”—a direct challenge to Pakistan’s occupation and military dominance.
In some instances, enraged demonstrators even managed to capture Pakistani army officers, an unprecedented act of defiance that speaks volumes about the deepening rage on the ground.
But Islamabad’s response was predictable: brute force. Heavily armed security forces were deployed in large numbers, turning cities into garrisons and targeting ordinary civilians with live bullets.
This has only strengthened the perception that Pakistan views PoK not as part of its “Kashmir cause,” but as a colony to be exploited and suppressed.
The Brewing Storm in PoK
This uprising did not erupt overnight. For months, ordinary Kashmiris in PoK have been pushed to the wall by Islamabad’s callousness. Crushing inflation, chronic unemployment, hunger stalking households, and the denial of basic amenities have made life unbearable.
Electricity generated from the Mangla Hydroelectric Project is siphoned off to Pakistan’s mainland, while Kashmiris in PoK suffer endless power cuts and inflated bills. Wheat, flour, and essential goods are either unaffordable or unavailable.
The 38-point charter of demands raised by the Avami Action Committee is a damning indictment of Islamabad’s broken promises. These include:
- The scrapping of 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan.
- Affordable flour and essential rations for the people of PoK.
- Fair electricity tariffs linked to the hydropower project in Mangla.
- Implementation of long-promised structural reforms and genuine autonomy for the region.
Instead of addressing these legitimate demands, Pakistan has chosen to silence dissent with the barrel of a gun.
The deaths in Muzaffarabad are not isolated; they are part of a larger pattern of systematic repression, where Pakistan treats the people of PoK as second-class citizens in their own homeland.
The World Cannot Look Away.
The killings in PoK highlight the hypocrisy of Islamabad, which never misses a chance to lecture the world about human rights in Kashmir, yet tramples upon the very same rights in the territory it occupies.
The silence of the international community emboldens Pakistan’s security establishment to continue its reign of terror.
But the tide in PoK is shifting. The slogans of freedom are no longer whispered in fear—they are shouted in defiance.
The Pakistani establishment may be able to kill a few, jail dozens, and silence hundreds, but it cannot extinguish the burning demand for dignity, livelihood, and liberty that has now engulfed the entire region.
The blood of innocent protesters will not be forgotten. PoK has risen, and its voice is growing louder by the day.
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