By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters

Watchdogs have raised concerns over mounting reports of deadly clashes during regional elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where a banned activist group has boycotted the vote and staged protests.

The clashes between police and protesters earlier this week killed more than 30 people in the region, according to the leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

In a video statement on Wednesday shared by Arab News Pakistan, JAAC committee member Sardar Umar Nazir claimed 20 of the group’s supporters had been killed during a march on Monday, when the first round of voting took place.

He listed reports of at least 10 other protesters being killed the following day in the towns of Rawalakot, Mirpur and elsewhere, including during sit-ins.

“Our demand was peaceful, it was peaceful, we tried to keep it non-violent and bullets were fired at it,” said Nazir in the video statement.

Pakistani authorities said a member of the security personnel was killed and five more were injured in clashes on Monday. 

Claire's Observations:

Throck, my AI, tells us the following about protests here:  

"The violence has been serious. Since early June 2026, dozens of people—including protesters and security personnel—have been killed. The exact death toll is disputed by authorities and protest organizers. 

It's also worth noting that the Pakistani government and protest organizers describe the situation very differently. Officials allege that armed militants infiltrated the protests and that some demonstrators used firearms against security forces, while JAAC and human rights advocates argue that the movement began as a peaceful campaign for political reform and that the government's response has been excessively forceful."

 I would like to politely and respectfully remind BOTH the current Pakistani government and The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), of the thought first attributed to John Morley, a British Liberal politician, historian, and essayist, which appeared in his biography of Voltaire, published in 1872: "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him."

"Peaceful dialogue" here has to be far more than  just a political slogan;  it has to be intelligently, morally, and ethically lived by people who probably would much rather kill each other than to sit down at a table; look each other in the eye; and figure out ways to get the killing to stop. 

Mike and I used to live on Oahu in Hawaii for a lot of years.  One phrase I remember  our Asian-American brothers and sisters saying frequently is, "The longest journey... begins with the first step."

That first step, toward dialogue and reconciliation, is desperately needed right here... and right now.  Let's hope and pray, that it is allowed to take place.