PoK Unrest Enters Day 36 As Thousands March Toward Muzaffarabad Amid Crackdown

Unrest in Pakistan occupied Kashmir entered its 36th consecutive day on Wednesday as thousands of protesters launched a long march toward Muzaffarabad , defying a heavy security clampdown and mounting casualties. The march, called by the Joint Awami Action Committee , began after talks between JAAC and the regional administration collapsed without agreement on demands relating to electricity costs, access to essential commodities and broader governance concerns. Large crowds had kept an overnight vigil ahead of the march, with protesters vowing to continue their agitation despite intensified restrictions.

Addressing a massive gathering in Rawalakot, JAAC leader Sardar Amman Khan rejected Islamabad's characterisation of the region as disputed territory, insisting it remained forcibly occupied and pledging that the movement would not stop until it achieved victory, even at the cost of protesters' lives. The rally reflected growing public anger following the killing of six civilians, identified as Zahid Mughal, Zafar Mughal, Arsalan Akbar and Wajid Hayat, after Pakistani security forces opened fire near Rawalakot's New Bus Terminal earlier in the week.

The United Kashmir People's National Party strongly condemned the killings and demanded an independent international investigation into the reported use of excessive force, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and continuing restrictions on civilians. The party also urged Islamabad to immediately halt lethal action against peaceful demonstrators and produce all detainees before competent courts.

Separately, reports from the region claimed that angry crowds targeted a security forces camp in Senapati amid the escalating unrest, though this could not be independently verified. Schoolchildren have also joined the protests in Rawalakot, raising concerns over the treatment of women and girls by Pakistani authorities, while activists said demands for affordable food, uninterrupted power, clean drinking water and internet access have repeatedly been met with force rather than redress.

Pakistan's government and security forces remained on high alert ahead of the march, which observers describe as one of the region's largest anti government mobilisations in recent years. India's Ministry of External Affairs has previously described the crackdown as the consequence of decades of exploitation by Islamabad. With elections in the region scheduled for July 27 and no sign of compromise from either side, analysts warn that further use of force against marchers could deepen the humanitarian crisis and trigger a wider political emergency across Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir.