Cop Killed, Scores Injured As Violent Protests Escalate In PoK’s Muzaffarabad

One police officer was killed, and more than 100 people, mostly cops, sustained injuries in violent confrontations between security forces and protesters demanding lower wheat flour and electricity prices in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). According to reports, the disputed region witnessed intense clashes on Saturday between police and activists of a rights movement amid a widespread strike.

Mirpur’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kamran Ali, confirmed that Sub-Inspector Adnan Qureshi succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest in the town of Islamgarh, where he was deployed to prevent a rally organized by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

Videos circulating online show protestors chanting slogans for “azadi” (freedom) and expressing their anger towards the Pakistani government. The grievances run deep, with residents feeling exploited and neglected. The JAAC, spearheaded by local traders, is demanding an end to excessive taxation on electricity bills and a fairer distribution of hydropower generated in the region.

The ongoing situation in PoK has reignited the Kashmir issue. India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, recently said that PoK remains an integral part of India and blamed past governments for failing to secure its complete return after independence. He argued that India’s initial approach to the Kashmir issue on the international stage contributed to the current situation.