Pakistan issues shoot-at-sight order ’on Protesters

Pakistan Afrik24 – One of the leaders of the ongoing protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) has claimed that the government has “unleashed a massacre” against protesters and issued shoot-at-sight orders.

In a message accessed by CNN-News18, JAAC leader Shaukat Mir accused security forces of opening direct fire on demonstrators in Rawalakot and said that they had “unleashed a massacre” against activists.

Mir further said that theirs was a “peaceful, non-violent and unarmed movement for basic rights” and yet Pakistan had labelled them terrorists. He questioned why the government had engaged with them in talks if it considered them terrorists.

“We are peaceful people. We just asked for our basic rights. We haven’t spoken anything against the Pakistani establishment nor against the state of Pakistan… We are ready to die. We will die with the satisfaction that we had a peaceful struggle and never created chaos,” Mir further said.

The remarks have come as POJK is in the grips of a widespread crackdown on protests. Officials have said that at least 11 people —seven civilians and four policepersons— have been killed and dozens injured dozens in the crackdown. The authorities have also suspended internet services across the region, essentially cutting it off from the rest of the world. To carry out the crackdown, the POJK administration has sought up to 14,000 personnel from the federal government.

But the actual toll is expected to be much higher, with JAAC telling CNN-News 18 that at least 27 protesters were killed while several others were injured. The report said that locals claimed that more than 100 protesters have been killed. The Pakistani media have reported that around 200 protesters have been detained.

The Joint Army Action Committee (JAAC) is pursuing a POJK-wide protest over its demand to abolish 12 seats in the region’s legislative assembly reserved for refugees from J&K who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947. The group claims these seats are used by mainstream Pakistani parties to influence government formation in the region. Essentially, the abolition of these seats is seen as a way to seek greater autonomy for the region.

The ongoing crackdown may intensify on Tuesday as the JAAC has called a region-wide strike today. The strike coincides with the beginning of the filing of nomination papers for the upcoming July 27 elections. As part of the crackdown, the government proscribed the JAAC under anti-terrorism laws earlier this month.

This is the latest episode in long-running tensions in the region over demands for a slew of changes in the way the regional and federal governments administer the territory. The authorities also mounted a crackdown on activists last year, with the toll crossing the 200 mark.