Nine killed and a dozen wounded in fresh clashes between banned protest group and security forces in Poonch district.
MUZAFFARABAD: Nine people were killed and a dozen wounded in renewed clashes between supporters of a banned protest group and security forces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, an official said on Wednesday.
Supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a movement demanding economic and governance reforms, vowed to march towards the regional capital Muzaffarabad this week in defiance of official warnings.
“Seven civilians, one paramilitary personnel and one police officer were killed during violence that erupted on Tuesday,” Sardar Waheed, the top civilian official in Poonch district, where protests have been heavily concentrated, told AFP.
“The authorities will stop the march if the protesters attempt to proceed towards the capital,” Waheed added.
The unrest follows a local government ban on the JAAC under anti-terrorism laws in June, after which clashes between protesters and police killed 22 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Supporters of the group have rejected the “terror” designation, calling it an act of “oppression” and insisting their campaign seeks legitimate economic and political rights.
Sit-ins by protesters have continued for more than a month in different parts of the region and authorities have sealed the JAAC’s main office and arrested hundreds of its supporters.
Shops remained largely shut and public transport suspended across Poonch as protesters maintained road blockades.
The Himalayan region was also rocked by days of protests in September last year, when clashes left nine people dead.
The JAAC has demanded the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for those who left what is now the India-administered portion of Kashmir.
The JAAC says the seats are used by major Pakistani political parties to tip the composition of the local parliament in their favour with those who mostly reside outside the region. The next regional elections are set for late July.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, but has been divided between the two countries since their independence from British rule in 1947.
