Brussels, August 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Members of the Kashmiri diaspora in Belgium staged a protest march from the European Parliament to the United Nations office in Brussels, condemning the alleged killing of civilians by Pakistani forces in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) amid escalating unrest in the region.
The protesters on Wednesday raised slogans against Pakistani security forces and called for international attention to what they described as continuing human rights violations in PoK. They also alleged restrictions on essential services and the use of excessive force against demonstrators.
The march came amid protests by Kashmiri diaspora groups in several countries, with demonstrators calling for international intervention over what they described as a crackdown by Pakistani authorities in the occupied territory.
According to the Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Observatory (JKHRO), a PoK-based human rights documentation and monitoring organisation, 93 civilians were killed during the escalating unrest between June 5 and August 5.
Last week, thousands of members of the Kashmiri diaspora held a protest march in Bologna, Italy, condemning alleged violence by Pakistani forces against protesters in PoK.
The demonstrators expressed solidarity with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil society group leading protests in the region, and called for an end to security operations against demonstrators.
In a post on X, the JAAC said Kashmiris in Italy had staged a strong protest and appealed to the international community to speak out against what it described as the “genocide” of unarmed civilians by Pakistani forces.
“Peaceful demonstrators are only demanding their basic rights,” the group said.
The situation in PoK has also drawn concern from British parliamentarians. Labour Party MP Liam Byrne described reports of live ammunition being used against peaceful protesters as “deeply alarming”.
Another British MP, Adnan Hussain, described the reported civilian deaths as a “tragedy” and said any use of excessive or unlawful force by Pakistani authorities should be subject to a full, independent and transparent investigation.
The allegations of human rights violations and civilian deaths could not be independently verified.
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