Society News

Pakistan-administered Kashmir: protest group says 30 killed in two days as election goes ahead

Protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which began on June 4, have grown deadlier. Al Jazeera reported on July 15 that at least nine people were killed the day before: an officer in a raid near Rawalakot, and seven protesters and a police officer in Sudhnoti district, where police said they acted in self-defence. Officials then counted at least 28 dead and 79 injured since June, with about 4,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed.

The dispute is over 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living elsewhere in Pakistan, which the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) says hand outsiders control. The group was banned under anti-terrorism laws on June 5, and the region's Supreme Court ruled the seats constitutionally protected.

On July 28 The Guardian reported the JAAC's claim that security forces killed 25 people on Monday, the first day of voting, and five more on Tuesday in Mirpur. Amnesty International called for the communications blackout to be lifted.

“Security forces have taken away the dead bodies and locked away the hospital in Mirpur.” — SA Khan, JAAC spokesperson, via The Guardian

How each outlet framed it

• Al Jazeera — official accounts from Islamabad: local officials insisted the capital was calm despite restricted internet.
• The Guardian — the protesters' allegations of a crackdown and evidence being removed.
• Dhaka Tribune — the AFP wire report of nine deaths, for South Asian readers.

What we don't know yet: the JAAC figure of 30 deaths has not been independently confirmed, and the blackout makes checking hard.