Rights body condemns deadly crackdown on protestors in PoK, claims over 32 civilians killed

Islamabad, June 17 (IANS) A leading international human rights organisation strongly condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protestors in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by Pakistani authorities, which reportedly killed over 32 civilians, including one woman, between June 8 and 16.

The International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) said that the crackdown was followed by the complete suspension of internet and mobile networks across the region, the deployment of federal paramilitary troops and mass arbitrary arrests of over 100 activists and leaders.

The rights body also cited travel restrictions barring outsiders from entering the region and the arrest of journalist Sohrab Barkat under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

The unrest was reported days after the Pakistani authorities in occupied territory declared the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a proscribed group under anti-terrorism laws, ahead of its planned protest on June 9.

“Branding a civil society body as ‘terrorist’ on vague grounds, while simultaneously sealing the region from outside scrutiny, constitutes a disproportionate and unlawful violation of the right to freedom of association,” IHRF stated.

The rights body said that the crackdown was not an isolated incident but part of a systemic pattern of human rights violations in PoK.

The IHRF also documented a recurring trend of deadly crackdowns on JAAC protests, including violence in May 2024 and October 2025 that claimed multiple lives.

The rights body called on the Pakistani authorities to immediately halt the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters, lift the internet shutdown, release all individuals arbitrarily detained, and revoke the “unlawful ban” on JAAC.

It also urged an independent and impartial investigation into all civilian deaths, with full access for international observers, and accountability for those responsible for the unlawful use of force, including the alleged extrajudicial killing of activist Shahzeb Habib.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International sharply criticised the internet shutdown in PoK, noting that the restrictions entered their twelfth consecutive day on Tuesday, with mobile network services being intermittently disrupted.

According to the rights body, the internet shutdown, imposed since June 5 in response to a call for protest by the JAAC, has resulted in an information blackout, disrupting people’s access to information and essential services and preventing documentation of human rights violations in the region.

“Further, there are reports of a physical blockade, also imposed in response to the call for protest, of key entry points into the region that have disrupted the delivery of essential goods, including food supplies and medicine. Such restrictions are disproportionate and severely impact people’s rights to life, access to healthcare, and freedom of movement,” Amnesty International stated.

The rights body called on the Pakistani authorities to immediately lift the restrictions on movement and communication and restore unhindered access to the region.

–IANS

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