(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Tensions escalated on Sunday (May 12) as fresh clashes erupted between civilians and the Pakistani Occupational Forces in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). According to reports, dozens of security personnel were beaten by enraged civilians in the latest bout of violence this morning.
The unrest followed a crippling strike staged on Saturday, which paralysed normal life and saw businesses closed in PoK's capital, Muzaffarabad. The strike, organized to denounce a police crackdown, resulted in a tense standoff between security forces and protersters.
'Pakistan se lenge Azadi': Unrest in PoJK as protests over inflation, load-shedding & more intensifies (WATCH)
Protests reverberated across various regions of PoK, including Samahni, Sehansa, Mirpur, Rawalakot, Khuiratta, Tattapani, and Hattian Bala. The strike call was issued by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Action Committee (JKJAAC) following the arrest of several of its leaders and activists in overnight police raids across Muzaffarabad and Mirpur divisions.
Notably, the committee had announced plans for a long march towards Muzaffarabad on May 11, drawing widespread anticipation.
The JKJAAC has been protesting against what it perceives as unjust taxation policies, particularly levies imposed on electricity bills. Last August, the committee staged a similar strike, signaling its steadfast opposition to government
al policies deemed oppressive.
Chief Secretary Dawood Muhammad Bareach of PoK had, in an April 22 letter to the Secretary of the Interior Division in Islamabad, requisitioned six platoons of civil armedforces
(CAF) for security purposes.
PoK witnesses clashes amidst total strike against police crackdown, dramatic videos go viral (WATCH)
Expressing concerns over looming law and order challenges, Bareach cited calls for strikes by "sub-nationalists and other disgruntled subversive elements," aiming to disrupt public services and commercial activities.
Despite government
measures, including the imposition of Section 144 and the declaration of holidays in educational institutions on May 10 and 11, widespread public defiance was witnessed across PoK.
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