At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured when police clashed with supporters of the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, one day before the group planned a rally over political rights and representation.
Sardar Waheed Khan, commissioner for the Poonch sector, said four police officers and a passer-by died after being shot, while six protesters were killed when law-enforcement personnel responded. Police Chief Liaqat Malik reported injuries to 23 members of the security forces and 50 protesters. Authorities said 30 people were arrested.
The violence erupted on Sunday in Rawalakot. Regional police accused armed JAAC supporters of firing on security forces and later surrounding the Combined Military Hospital, disrupting its work. Officials also alleged that protesters burned and damaged public and private property before police dispersed the gathering.
JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir presented a sharply different account, accusing the state of carrying out a massacre. In a video posted online, he said supporters would remain united and take part in the June 9 rally. The initial reporting did not independently establish which side initiated the lethal violence or verify every allegation about weapons and property damage.
The confrontation followed a ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan were protected by the constitution and could be removed only through a constitutional amendment.
JAAC has long sought the abolition of those seats, arguing that refugees exercise disproportionate political influence, and has campaigned for wider rights for people living in the region. Its earlier demonstrations included protests over flour and electricity costs, some of which became deadly after confrontations with security forces.
The regional government designated JAAC a prohibited group under anti-terrorism legislation on the Friday before the clash. Authorities also advised Pakistani and foreign tourists to leave before the planned rally.
Khan rejected the group's characterisation of the police action and said security forces were restoring order. He alleged that activists used automatic rifles, petrol bombs and other weapons. JAAC's account focused instead on state violence. Those competing narratives are central to any assessment of responsibility and require evidence beyond statements from the parties.
The deaths occurred in a Himalayan territory that remains a long-running point of tension with neighbouring India. In the immediate aftermath, however, the central issues were domestic: the status of reserved legislative seats, the prohibition of a protest movement and the conduct of both police and demonstrators.
With 11 deaths and at least 73 reported injuries, the Rawalakot clash raised urgent questions about proportionality, weapons use and whether the planned rally could proceed without further violence.
