UN Seeks Accountability Over Crackdown, Deaths During PoK Protests

The United Nations has expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and stressed the need for accountability if people were harmed while participating in peaceful protests.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said authorities everywhere should allow peaceful demonstrations and ensure accountability where protesters were harmed. His remarks came amid months of unrest in PoK over political representation, allegations of electoral manipulation and the government’s crackdown on protest movements.

“The Secretary-General supports the work of his High Commissioner,” Haq said, referring to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who had earlier called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into deaths linked to the unrest.

Türk had expressed concern over reports that dozens of people, including protesters and security personnel, had been killed since June. He also criticised Pakistan’s ban on the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and the arrests of its leaders, while urging authorities to restore calm.

The JAAC, a coalition involving traders, transporters, students, lawyers and activists, has claimed that more than 400 people were killed since early June. It also alleged that over 40 people died during violence surrounding the first phase of the regional elections on July 27. The Pakistan government has rejected the figures as exaggerated, saying the number of protest-related deaths was in the two digits.

The unrest has also centred on 12 reserved refugee seats in the 53-member PoK Legislative Assembly. The JAAC alleges that these seats are manipulated to influence the selection of the region’s prime minister.

India has rejected the elections as a “complete farce”, arguing that the political exercise cannot obscure what it describes as violence against protesters by Pakistani forces. New Delhi maintains that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and that Pakistan is in illegal occupation of portions of the territory.

The UN’s latest comments add international pressure on Pakistan to address allegations of excessive force and ensure credible investigations into the violence.