The rebellion in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has entered its 33rd consecutive day. Echoing yesterday's violence, Pakistani Rangers once again resorted to open firing and tear gas shelling today. The firing took place at around 10:00 am when a convoy of 60 to 70 protesters from Jandala was marching towards Rawalakot to join the massive Muzaffarabad march scheduled for July 15.
The convoy was initially intercepted near Arja Cross, just ahead of Jandala, where Pakistani Rangers opened fire and lobbed tear gas shells. ABP News has accessed several videos of the incident. Three young men lost their lives in today's military action, pushing the total death toll of protesters killed by Pakistani forces to 65.
Detailing the alleged atrocities committed by the Pakistani military, Sardar Umar Nazir, one of the prominent organisers of the movement, said the army's brutality had crossed all limits. He recounted that when the forces opened fire on the unarmed protesters today, an individual rushed into a nearby mosque to retrieve the Holy Quran to protect the religious text from damage.
However, he alleged that Pakistani Rangers entered the mosque wearing boots, snatched the Holy Quran, vandalised the premises and looted mosque property. Drawing a direct parallel, Sardar Umar Nazir compared the actions of the Pakistani army to those of the Israeli forces, stating that the Pakistani military was doing the exact same things in PoK mosques that Israel allegedly does in Gaza. He raised a pointed question: "What difference is left between the Pakistani army and the Israeli army?"
As reported yesterday, the deployment of Pakistani Rangers and the Frontier Corps (FC) in PoK has been scaled up to more than 17,500 personnel to thwart the July 15 long march from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad and prevent protesters from taking over the capital.
Visuals obtained by ABP News today from various parts of PoK show locals placing massive boulders and felling trees to block roads. This tactical resistance aims to prevent additional personnel from the Pakistani Rangers and FC from entering towns such as Rawalakot, Dheer Kot and Bagh.
Massive demonstrations involving both men and women continued across PoK for the 33rd consecutive day. Women were seen raising slogans demanding "Azaadi" (Freedom) and chanting, "Yeh jo dahshatgardi hai, iske peeche wardi hai" (The uniform is behind this terrorism).
Meanwhile, men raised slogans against the 41 local legislative seats and the 12 refugee seats in PoK, labelling pro-Pakistan elements as "Sahoolatkaar" (facilitators/collaborators) and issuing stern warnings to them.
In an attempt to break the protesters' unity, PoK Police Chief IG Captain (Retired) Liaquat Ali Malik issued a statement today. He urged those who had joined the Awami Action Committee under external influence to return, promising that the PoK and Pakistani administrations would treat them with respect. At the same time, Captain Malik blamed the Awami Action Committee for the killing of police personnel during the ongoing unrest.
However, the appeal by Captain (Retired) Liaquat Ali Malik, who was promoted and transferred from Lahore to PoK last year to enforce the regime's control, failed to make any significant impact on the ground. Defying the administration, locals continue to organise rallies across the region while raising slogans ahead of the July 15 march. Markets have remained completely shut for more than a month, and support among protesters for the Muzaffarabad march and the subsequent sit-in remains unshaken. The entire region is now closely watching how the volatile situation unfolds on July 15.
