Clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir kill 7 ahead of planned protest over refugee seats

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Clashes between supporters of an outlawed group and security forces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have killed at least seven people, including four security personnel, officials said Monday, a day before a planned protest over political rights and legislative representation.

Dozens more, including police officers and civilians, were wounded in the violence that erupted Sunday after the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment.

The landmark ruling came ahead of a rally planned for Tuesday by the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee, or JAAC, which has long demanded greater political rights for people in the region and the abolition of the refugee seats on the ground that the refugees have disproportionate influence. The group has organized large protests in recent years, some of which have turned violent.

Police said the dead were four security personnel and three JAAC supporters.

According to the regional police, armed supporters of the group opened fire on security forces in Rawalakot, a city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and later surrounded the Combined Military Hospital, disrupting medical services. Authorities said security forces eventually dispersed the crowd and restored order.

Police accused protesters of setting fires and damaging government and private property.

Authorities said normal hospital operations had resumed and that major highways, markets and commercial centers were functioning normally by Monday. Officials said legal action was underway against those involved in the unrest.

Tensions have been rising in the region for weeks but escalated after the court issued its opinion in response to a presidential reference seeking guidance on constitutional questions related to the refugee seats and upcoming elections for the 45-member Legislative Assembly.

In its ruling, the court said Sunday that the 12 refugee seats could not be abolished through executive action and that any change would require a constitutional amendment by the Legislative Assembly. The court also said public order could not be disrupted in the name of political protest and that elections must be held within the constitutionally prescribed time frame.

The current assembly has completed its term, and elections are scheduled for next month.

The regional government recently banned the JAAC, citing threats to public order, and police arrested dozens of its supporters last week. The refugee seats at the center of the dispute are reserved for people who migrated to Pakistan from Indian-controlled Kashmir decades ago and are intended to represent communities displaced by the long-running conflict over the Himalayan region.

The regional government says it accepted 36 of JAAC’s 38 demands during negotiations last year involving the group, regional authorities and Pakistan’s federal government. Two remaining demands concerned constitutional matters that could only be addressed by the Legislative Assembly.

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, both of which claim the territory in its entirety and have fought two wars over it since independence from British rule in 1947. Last year, clashes between protesters and security forces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir killed several people, including police officers.

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Associated Press writer Ishfaq Hussain in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, contributed to this story.