Tensions prevailed in Rawalkot region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Thursday (July 30, 2026) as clashes continued between security forces and the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

The tensions, which have claimed several lives this week, coincide with ongoing regional elections in PoK, with demonstrators affiliated with JAAC determined to march towards Muzaffarabad to press Islamabad to accept their demands.

The JAAC is a collective of activist groups which have been staging demonstrations for nearly two months over 12 contentious seats of the so-called Legislative Assembly in PoK. It alleges that the establishment manoeuvres these seats to install a Prime Minister of its choosing.

India has described the elections as an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its “grave” human rights violations in the region.

“India’s position on this matter has been clear, consistent, and well known. The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, including the areas currently under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation, are integral and inalienable parts of India,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi on Tuesday (July 28, 2026).

“As we have stated earlier, the ongoing mass protests in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir are the direct consequences of Pakistan’s economic exploitation, its denial of the people’s fundamental rights, and its administrative oppression,” he said.

In PoK, clashes between security forces and protesters have intensified since Monday, especially in Rawalkot and Mirpur, which reportedly resulted in maximum casualties.

According to the JAAC, at least 37 people, including women and children, were killed in the violence.

“The number of those injured remains unknown. Amid heavy gunfire, our people have continued to stand peacefully and unarmed. God willing, our peaceful struggle against oppression and injustice will continue,” it said in a statement.

However, the Pakistan government denied any death of civilians, saying militants of the banned Tehrik-e Taliban are present among the protesters and crackdown against them will continue.

“We will not talk to the protesters and law will take its course,” Pakistan State Minister for Interior Affairs Talal Chaudhary said.

Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have expressed concerns over reports of violence in the region, calling on the authorities to probe the incidents.

Shops and markets remained closed in different parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after a protest call by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), as over 20 people have reportedly been killed in recent police action in the region.

About 2,000 protestors associated with the JAAC launched a protest march from Bhimber on Tuesday (June 9, 2026_ and they would reach Mirpur for onward travel to Muzaffarabad, BBC Urdu reported.

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It added that some protesters would reach Rawalakot and then proceed to Muzaffarabad. Police and security forces personnel are patrolling the roads and other areas.

JAAC has been staging protests demanding subsidised flour and electricity. The group was outlawed on Friday (June 5, 2026) by authorities, citing concerns over public order and security.

The streets in Muzaffarabad were deserted, with hardly any vehicles on the roads, Dawn reported.

It added that riot police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed in the city. However, no protests were witnessed in the city.

It reported that hundreds of people had gathered in the Quaid-i-Azam stadium of Mirpur, another major town of PoK.

“Shops are closed here, and traffic is off the roads,” local journalist Sajjad Jarral told Dawn by telephone.

The legal fraternity of PoK boycotted judicial proceedings on the Bar Council’s call to protest the alleged arrest of senior lawyer Amjad Ali Khan, a core member of the JAAC.

Pakistan’s human rights body on Monday (June 8, 2026) said that it was “deeply alarmed” by the ongoing violence in PoK during violent clashes.

Authorities on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) announced a reward for those who helped in the arrest of the key leaders of the JAAC.

According to an official notification, a “Rs 10 million reward money” will be given to any person who provides information leading to the successful arrest of the central leaders of the JAAC, including Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Omar Nazir Kashmiri, Sardar Aman and Khawaja Mehran.

The notification states that the identity of those who provide information that helps in the arrest of the wanted persons will be kept confidential.

Meanwhile, PoK’s Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore urged a return to the negotiating table to end the tensions that have gripped the region over the past few days.

Mt. Rathore also acknowledged that while some of the demands of protesters, particularly related to refugee seats, require careful review, the solution must come through discussion rather than confrontation.

The JAAC has long been demanding the abolition of 12 “refugee seats” in the so-called Legislative Assembly in PoK. The seats are reserved for refugees from Kashmir who settled in Pakistan after 1947.

A high-level government delegation on Friday (October 3, 2025) held the second round of talks with the protest leaders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in an effort to convince them to end the demonstrations that have claimed at least nine lives and injured hundreds.

Violence broke out in the region following the call for a strike on September 29, forcing Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to send a Group of Ministers and other leaders to Muzaffarabad to find a negotiated solution to their grievances.

At least six civilians and three police personnel have been killed during the ongoing demonstrations in the region. Nearly 172 police personnel and around 50 civilians sustained injuries during the demonstrations.

The delegation led by former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf held the first round of talks with the representatives of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), representing traders, local leaders and civil society activists from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that a second round of negotiations was held in Muzaffarabad.

“We fully support the rights of the people of Kashmir,” he said, maintaining that most of their demands, which were in the public interest, had already been accepted. “Constitutional amendments are required to fulfil the remaining few demands and talks are ongoing regarding that.” He said there was no room for violence.

“We believe that violence is not the solution to any problem. We hope that the Action Committee will resolve all issues through peaceful dialogue,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said it is “deeply alarmed by the ongoing violence” in PoK, where at least nine people, including three police officers, have lost their lives and hundreds have been injured during protests.

“We strongly condemn the use of excessive force and the deaths of civilians and law enforcers alike, as well as communication blackouts,” the HRCP posted on X.

It said that while “dialogue is essential, it cannot be meaningful amid the continued political disenfranchisement of the region’s people. The right to peaceful protest must be upheld and grievances addressed transparently”.