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Monitored since 5 November 2026 | no updates yet
Key takeaways
- Security forces cleared a months-long protest site near Rawalakot's bus terminal, and gunfire followed, according to police and protest groups.
- Police have confirmed no deaths. The UKPNP alleges at least seven killed, while Times Now cites JAAC for at least three.
- No independent source has verified the toll, the alleged drone and rocket use, or who fired first.
Security forces moved early on Thursday 5 November 2026 to clear a months-long protest site near the main bus terminal in Rawalakot, Poonch district, Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Gunfire followed. Police have not confirmed any deaths. The United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) said at least seven people were killed, according to IANS. The party itself said the claims require urgent independent verification.
Supporters of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had held the site for about five months, according to Daily Pakistan, which describes the group as banned. Daily Pakistan reported that security personnel moved into the bus terminal area in the early hours of Thursday to dismantle barricades and reopen roads, and that armed exchanges lasted about two hours before security forces secured the area.
What police and protest groups say
Poonch Region police, through a spokesperson for the Deputy Inspector General, said officers were removing "illegal barricades". They said armed individuals in the protest group "allegedly began firing indiscriminately" and that officers "returned fire". Police said several personnel were injured and gave no number. An earlier statement from a district administration official had said no officers were hurt, Daily Pakistan reported. Report.az, citing a police statement, reported that one officer was wounded.
The UKPNP told the Indian news agency IANS that at least seven people were killed and 18 seriously injured, and said the claims require urgent independent verification. It also cited unverified reports that four children were killed in an alleged drone attack. It named three of the dead: Atif Jardees, 35, Ehtisham Younis, 30, and Adil Rashid, 32. It alleged forces used heavy machine guns, armoured vehicles and drones against sit-ins in Rawalakot, and that a house near the bus terminal was reportedly destroyed by fire after an alleged drone attack. Times Now, citing JAAC, reported at least three dead and more than five injured. ABP Live reported that protesters displayed what appeared to be bomb fragments and the tail fin of an RPG-7 (rocket-propelled grenade). Their origin is unverified.
Observers are reading: the three indicators that will test the competing accounts of Rawalakot, from police casualty data to the Eidgah crowds.
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Rawalakot toll remains unverified
The toll, the alleged drone and rocket use and the sequence of fire remain unverified. Accounts of timing also differ: Daily Pakistan says the operation began in the early hours, while ABP Live says heavy fire began at 8 am. Police said further details would be released later.
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