Protest Chaos in Muslim Nuclear Power: 30 Dead Following Mass Shooting
A wave of bloody unrest has shaken the Pakistan-administered region of Kashmir after local security forces were accused of shooting at least 30 unarmed demonstrators over the past two days. The government’s heavy-handed response to mass protests has triggered the worst escalation of conflict in recent years in the nuclear-armed nation.
According to reports from The Guardian on Tuesday (28/07/2026), the local civil society group, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), reported that security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of peaceful protesters. The brutal shooting resulted in 25 deaths on Monday and an additional five people on Tuesday.
The mass protests, which have been ongoing since June, were triggered by demands for electoral system reforms and the removal of 12 special seats for refugees, which are perceived as a tool used by the central government to control local politics. To quell the unrest, the government has implemented a total blackout of communication networks and the internet, alongside mass arrests of activists.
JAAC spokesperson, SA Khan, accused Pakistani security forces of not only shooting at crowds in the city of Mirpur but also deliberately removing the bodies of victims to erase evidence of the shootings. Security forces reportedly locked down local hospitals and transported bodies from the streets following the outbreak of violence.
“Security forces have carried away the bodies of the victims and locked hospitals in Mirpur. We have photographic and video evidence of bodies lying in pools of blood on the streets, but the authorities abducted the corpses to erase the evidence,” stated SA Khan.
Local residents in Mirpur confirmed that clashes expanded as people gathered to protest the killings from the previous day, before shops were forced to close due to the crackdown. Independent verification of the total death toll remains difficult as media access to the conflict zone is prohibited and internet blockades persist.
The Pakistani government has strongly denied state involvement in the shooting of civilian protesters. Pakistan’s Information Minister, Atta Tarar, during a press conference, accused the wave of demonstrations in Kashmir of receiving direct “funding and instructions” from India.
These allegations were immediately refuted by the JAAC, which asserted that the narrative of Indian involvement is a recurring tactic used by the government to silence the people’s political rights demands. Previously, in June, approximately 40 people were reported dead when violence first erupted, an event the government responded to by labelling the JAAC as a terrorist organisation.
The bloody escalation has sparked international concern, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urging an independent investigation. Amnesty International has also called on Islamabad to immediately restore communication access and cease illegal violence against citizens.