Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has sparked widespread outrage by defending a deadly military crackdown on civilian protesters in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), declaring that he views the local agitators as “enemies like India.”
The controversy erupted following two days of fresh violence in the Rawalakot and Mirpur areas of PoK, where Pakistani forces have reportedly killed at least 32 Kashmiri protesters. The latest deaths add to a rapidly rising toll in the region, where persistent civil unrest has claimed over 90 lives since early June.
Controversial Statement Triggers Outrage
In a video circulated widely on social media platform X, Asif made his stance clear regarding the ongoing civilian demonstrations against Islamabad’s policies.
“I put the protesters of Azad Kashmir in the same category as India and consider them also as enemies like India,” the Defence Minister said in the viral clip.
The minister’s harsh rhetoric aligns with an intensifying campaign by Pakistani security forces to crush dissent across the region.
Videos Reveal Open Firing on Civilians
Social media platforms, including accounts affiliated with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), have been flooded with graphic footage showing Pakistani security personnel firing directly into crowds of peaceful demonstrators. In Mirpur, videos showed fallen motorbikes, bodies strewn across roads, and security personnel loading deceased civilians into military vehicles.
Among those killed in the recent wave of violence was Usman Nazir, the younger brother of JAAC founding member Umar Nazir.
The JAAC, a prominent rights group that Islamabad recently banned after it mobilized public resistance against local human rights abuses, condemned the military’s excessive force.
“In Mirpur, the public has been martyred… five more people on the streets,” the JAAC posted on X, describing widespread public mobilization in Churhoi and surrounding areas. “The worst firing continues… We are picking up the bodies, but you will not be able to endure this hatred that you are sowing today.”
JAAC Rejects Narrative by Pakistani Media
The action committee also pushed back against coverage in state-aligned Pakistani media, which claimed that protesters were attempting to forcibly enter government facilities in Rawalakot.
“Rawalakot is our city, which you have illegally and forcibly occupied,” the group wrote on X. “We did not forcibly barge into anyone’s home… you martyred countless people by shelling and firing on peaceful, unarmed civilians.”
As tension remains severe in Rawalakot and Mirpur, local activists report that Pakistani forces continue to use tear gas and live ammunition to suppress everyday public movements and gatherings across PoK.
