Massive protests sweep Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir; internet cut, heavy security deployed
Muzaffarabad: Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is witnessing one of its largest protest movements in years, with thousands rallying under the banner of the Awami Action Committee (AAC) to demand long-pending reforms.
The AAC has launched an indefinite “shutter-down and wheel-jam” strike, pressing a 38-point charter of demands. Key demands include abolishing 12 assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan, subsidised flour, reduced electricity tariffs linked to the Mangla hydropower project, and long-promised structural reforms.
In response, Islamabad cut internet access from midnight and deployed large contingents of security forces. Over the weekend, convoys of armed personnel conducted flag marches across major towns, while additional police from Punjab and 1,000 reinforcements from Islamabad were sent to the region. Entry and exit points of key cities have been sealed.
Talks between AAC leaders, PoK authorities, and federal ministers broke down after 13 hours, with AAC negotiators refusing to compromise on their demand to abolish elite privileges and refugee assembly seats.
Despite heavy deployment, protest leaders insisted the demonstrations would remain peaceful. However, videos circulating on social media showed large crowds chanting slogans against Pakistan’s occupation, raising fears of a severe crackdown.
Traders in Muzaffarabad briefly reopened shops on Sunday to allow residents to purchase essential supplies before the strike resumed.
Officials have defended the deployment as necessary to maintain order, while AAC leaders maintain the agitation is a peaceful struggle for fundamental rights denied to the region for over seven decades.
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Emotional tributes paid to cops killed in blast at gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Emotional scenes were witnessed on Sunday as wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of three of the four police personnel killed in an explosion in a gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The grieving family members were inconsolable, while security personnel tried to comfort them.
Amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram," public representatives, along with senior police and administrative officials, paid tributes to the deceased personnel.
The wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Inspector Sukhram Vatti (40), constables Krishna Komra (35) and Sanjay Gadhpale (29), killed in the explosion on Saturday, was held at the Police Lines in Narayanpur district, neighbouring Kanker.
The mortal remains of constable Parmanand Komra (29), who succumbed to injuries during treatment in Raipur, will be shifted to Kanker, where a separate wreath-laying ceremony will be held, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, after paying homage, told reporters that the four police personnel made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the region.
"I pay my homage to them," he added.
The four personnel were killed while they were attempting to dispose of a gunpowder dump hidden earlier by Maoists in a forest near Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district, according to police.
It was the first explosion linked to Naxalites in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31, and also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations lost their lives.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) official Vatti, who was leading the team, hailed from Bijapur district. Constable Krishna Komra of the district force and constables Gadhpale and Parmanand Komra of the Bastar Fighters were residents of different villages in Kanker.
