At least seven people were killed, and dozens were injured in a clash between police and members of a banned protest group in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, officials said on Monday.
Commissioner Sardar Waheed, a top civilian official in the city of Rawalakot, told AFP three civilians were killed and 40 wounded.
At least four of the deceased were police men with 23 wounded.
The clashes were with the supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee in Rawalakot in the PoK. The anti-government movement demanded economic and governance reform and had vowed to keep protesting after the local government banned the group under anti-terrorism laws.
The statement maintained the men had been shot by firearms and shotguns, terming it outright “terrorism”
While officials said that at least two people from the protesters were killed, locals believed the number was much higher.
The information from the region was curtailed by officials with the closure of mobile data services in the region.
Police said that the group's central office was sealed on Sunday. A ban on large gatherings was also imposed in Muzaffarabad, the largest city in POK.
Members of the JAAC have called their listing as a terror group “oppression” while saying that their demonstrations were for legitimate and political rights.
The demonstration on Tuesday was to protest earlier incidents of violence, including the killing of a JAAC leader by the security forces, internet blackouts and the group's ban, as well as electricity shortages, inflation, unemployment, and alleged resource exploitation and political marginalisation.
Authorities also confirmed that more than 70 JAAC members were arrested over the weekend.
The JAAC had also demanded the abolition of 12 reserved seats allotted to people who migrated from Jammu and Kashmir and now live in Pakistan. The group argued that the seats allow non-residents to influence the composition of the local assembly and help major Pakistani political parties shape governments in the region.
