POK rises against Pakistan as army guns down 12 protesters, over 200 injured

Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) has been rocked by one of its fiercest uprisings in decades, with at least 12 civilians killed and over 200 injured as Pakistani security forces opened fire on protesters. The unrest, now in its third day on October 2, has plunged the region into turmoil, exposing deep public anger against the Pakistani state and its military.

The protests — ignited by the government’s failure to meet 38 long-pending demands—have spiraled into a direct confrontation with the army. Violence flared in Muzaffarabad, Dheerkot, and Dadyal, where protesters clashed with troops despite heavy crackdowns. Among the dead are five protesters shot in Muzaffarabad, five in Dheerkot, and two in Dadyal. Three police personnel have also been killed.

Led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (AAC), demonstrators are demanding abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees in Pakistan, as well as tax relief, subsidies on flour and electricity, and completion of stalled development projects.

Markets and businesses remain shuttered since the agitation began on September 29, while authorities have cut off mobile, internet, and landline services in an attempt to stifle the movement. Still, visuals flooding social media show thousands marching through barricades, chanting slogans like “Kashmir is ours, we will decide its fate,” in a rare, open challenge to Islamabad and its powerful military establishment.

The scale of the protests has forced Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — currently in London — to announce a negotiation panel to address the crisis, even as his government rushed thousands of reinforcements into the region. Sharif appealed for calm and urged security agencies to exercise restraint, but his words have done little to stem the fury on the ground.

In Geneva, Nasir Aziz Khan of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) urged the United Nations to intervene, warning of an impending humanitarian crisis. The unrest follows closely on the heels of a deadly Pakistan Air Force strike in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last week that killed 30 civilians, further deepening anger against the state’s heavy-handed tactics.

For the first time in decades, voices from POK are directly taking aim at the Pakistani government and military, turning the region into a volatile flashpoint with implications far beyond its borders.