US urges Pakistan to curb crackdown and ensure peaceful elections in contested Kashmir

In a statement to ANI, a US State Department spokesperson urged Pakistan to exercise restraint and act in line with its constitution as it confronts a crackdown on demonstrators in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The United States emphasized the need for conditions that allow free and fair elections to proceed peacefully, including access to information. Recent clashes in June and July have resulted in at least 30 deaths among protesters, security personnel and bystanders.

The outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee has organized protests over the contested 12 refugee seats, alleging that Pakistan’s establishment manipulates these seats to install a preferred prime minister. The Shehbaz Sharif government, via adviser Rana Sanaullah, rejected the committee’s casualty claims as “overly exaggerated.” Due to security worries, voting in seven of eleven constituencies slated for the third phase on August 10 has been indefinitely postponed. Earlier phases saw violence, with the second phase on August 2 producing one death and multiple injuries, while PML-N secured a majority of seats.