Pakistan turns to drones, heavy weapons as PoK protests spread, crackdown intensifies

New Delhi: After a brief lull, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is once again witnessing widespread unrest. Protests demanding basic amenities and fundamental rights have continued for more than three months, with no indication of subsiding.

Pakistan has resorted to the use of force, enforced disappearances, and threats in an attempt to quell the agitation, but protesters have refused to back down. With tear gas, firing, and lathi charges failing to break the protests, Pakistani forces have now reportedly turned to drones to target private homes.

An official described the use of drones to target private homes as a major escalation, reflecting Pakistan's desperation to contain the protests.

“Pakistan had turned to this tactic after its earlier use of force, including tear gas, firing and lathi charges, failed to deter protesters in PoK or bring the agitation to an end,” the official said.

In fact, such actions only mobilised the people further and made them more determined to take part in the protests, the official said. When the protests began, it was advocacy groups like the Joint Action Awami Committee (JAAC) that were leading it.

Now it has become a people’s movement and has reached beyond Rawalakot and even reached the capital city of Muzaffarabad. Students from Chehla University and the Jamia Kashmir Muzaffarabad are now part of the protests.

The students took to the streets to express solidarity with the people of PoK, who have been facing a severe crackdown by the Pakistani security establishment.

Another official said that students joining the JAAC is bad news for the Pakistani establishment.

“Not only does it signal how wide the protests are reaching, but it is also an indication that the people are not going to take things lying down,” the official added.

The use of drones on residential complexes is a dangerous escalation in PoK. It indicates that the security forces are ready to kill innocent people so that this could drive fear in the minds of the protesters, the official said.

Officials said drones were being used not only to target residential complexes but also to carry out strikes near protest sites. Protesters have further alleged that, alongside the deployment of drones, fresh consignments of heavy weapons are being moved into the region.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the deployment of drones and the new consignments of heavy weapons being sent to PoK is a clear sign that there would be a major escalation in violence.

There is every likelihood of mass casualties, with civilians being the main target, the official said.

“The establishment has further tightened restrictions on the media. Although curbs were already in place, state-fed information continued to be broadcast. However, there is now a complete blackout, with no news outlet in Pakistan making any mention of PoK,” the official said.

This is yet another sign that Pakistan is planning to launch an all-out offensive against the people of PoK, the official added.

For now, the people of PoK are defying the force that is being used on them.

Multiple threat tactics have not worked. Further, the promises that the establishment has made to groups such as the JAAC have not been fulfilled, and this has added to the anger of the people.

The biggest protest site is at D-Chowk in Rawalakot. The security deployment is the highest here.

Despite force being used at D-Chowk, not a single protester has moved, and this shows how defiant the people are. In recent weeks, the establishment has also been accused of sabotage plots.

There have also been attempts to infiltrate the protest sites with pro-establishment elements, allegedly with the intention of sabotaging the agitation.

In the latest such incident, three security personnel in plain clothes allegedly infiltrated a protest site and attempted to open fire on the protesters. However, the protesters managed to thwart the alleged sabotage attempt.

Amid growing concerns over the escalation, six United Nations human rights experts had questioned the decision to designate the JAAC as a proscribed terrorist organisation.

The intention of proscribing the JAAC is to justify the force being used against them. Pakistan wants to send out a message that force is not being used on protesters, but against those part of terror groups, an official said.

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