Islamabad, August 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Thousands of protesters gathered at D-Chowk in Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Sunday, staging a sit-in and preparing for a peaceful long march towards Muzaffarabad, even as the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) alleged intermittent firing by security forces in the area.
According to the JAAC, women and children are continuing a protest sit-in at Dreak, where demonstrations have been ongoing for several weeks. The organisation said the protest would continue until the authorities implement the movement’s recognised demands. Protesters raised slogans emphasising unity among the people of Kashmir.
In statements shared on social media, the JAAC claimed that security personnel had carried out intermittent heavy firing near the protest site but said there were no reports of fatalities in Rawalakot during Sunday’s developments.
The demonstrations come amid heightened tensions in PoK. On Saturday, JAAC member Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri alleged that more than 50 people had been killed and hundreds injured during the past four days in a crackdown by Pakistani security forces. These claims have not been independently verified.
The JAAC also said late-night demonstrations continued across the Muzaffarabad region, with protesters demanding protection of fundamental rights and implementation of assurances allegedly made by local authorities.
Meanwhile, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP), led by Chairman Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, held meetings with United Nations officials at the UN Headquarters in New York to highlight what it described as a deteriorating human rights situation in PoK.
The delegation urged the United Nations, international community and human rights organisations to press for restraint by Pakistani authorities, protection of civilians, the return of bodies of those killed to their families, disclosure of the whereabouts of missing persons and the release of individuals allegedly detained unlawfully.
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