PoK Unrest Intensifies: Death Toll Crosses 100 After Pakistani Forces Open Fire On Protesters

POK PROTESTS: Violence broke out in PoK ahead of a planned protest on Tuesday, leaving 11 people dead and more than 70 injured after police and paramilitary forces moved in to break up a crowd. Some reports also claimed that more than 100 people died. The protesters were part of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a coalition of civil society groups fighting for economic and political rights. Police said the group had gathered outside a hospital morgue, where the body of another JAAC member was brought after police shot and killed him earlier. Sardar Waheed Khan, commissioner of Poonch, told Reuters that “miscreants” fired on security forces, killing four officers and a bystander. He said law enforcement then shot and killed six protesters.

Reports claim around 150 people were killed and hundreds injured in Rawalakot, PoK’s Kashmir, after Pakistani forces opened fire.

Protests seeking independence from Pakistan have continued intensely for several days. Situation out of control! pic.twitter.com/WLnYndryMc

— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) June 8, 2026

POK protests turn deadly

Police chief Liaqat Malik said 23 security officials and 50 protesters were among the injured in Sunday’s clash. Authorities reported arresting 30 people in this volatile Himalayan region near the Indian border.

Shaukat Nawaz Mir, a JAAC leader, posted a video saying, “The state has begun a massacre of our people in Rawalakot,” naming the district where the violence happened. He promised the group would remain united and press ahead with the June 9 lockdown.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the regional government’s use of anti-terror laws to ban JAAC. In a statement, the commission said, “You can’t have meaningful dialogue when the region’s people keep being denied their political rights. Peaceful protest is a basic right, and complaints need to be addressed openly.”

The HRCP urged both the federal and regional governments to “avoid further escalation, respect people’s rights, and commit to transparent and inclusive negotiations.” The group said it would send a fact-finding mission soon to assess what happened.

Innocent protestors are being massacred by occupying pakistani forces in PoK.
International Media and organisations need to wake up and call our Pakistani Establishment and Military’s tyranny!!@UNHumanRights @UN_HRC @Reuters @EURightsAgency @BBCWorld https://t.co/QuaafDBefG pic.twitter.com/ONhsqZzB2s

— War & Gore (@Goreunit) June 8, 2026

Why are the protests taking place? 

The protests in PoK are fueled by a combination of economic hardships, political repression, and institutionalised disparities relating to access to resources. Violence has erupted since the protests have turned violent, killing protesters and security personnel. 

Pákistan Army opened fire on Kashmiri protesters in #PoJK demanding freedom from Pák occupation. Multiple casualties reported.

Internet services suspended across Pákistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir.

Where is the UN sleeping?? Are they less Kashmiris or their human rights don’t… pic.twitter.com/NoBjBxGv1W

— Fatima Dar (@FatimaDar_jk) June 6, 2026

What are the core demands of JAAC?

The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) is a civil society movement organization at grassroots level in Pakistan administered Kashmir commonly known as Azad Kashmir. It was established in 2023, bringing together student organisations, transporters and trade organisations to demand relief from economic distress and government apathy.

Massive cuts in electricity prices, based more on the cheaper electricity that is produced by a local hydropower project. Subsidized wheat flour prices are same as used in neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan.Political reform: eliminating unnecessary privileges of the political class and the upper administration and scrapping refugee seats in the regional legislative assembly.

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