- Pakistani forces allegedly used combat weapons against PoK protesters.
- Protesters displayed drone bomb fragments and RPG rocket fins.
- Seven protesters died; police labelled demonstrators as rioters.
- International human rights bodies urged to investigate alleged actions.
Evidence has emerged from Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) indicating that Pakistani Rangers and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel used military-grade combat weapons against unarmed protesters.
Sardar Omar Nazir, a key organiser of the ongoing five-month-long demonstrations in PoK, publicly displayed fragments of bombs allegedly dropped by Pakistani Rangers and FC personnel using drones on protesters and civilian homes at Omar Farooq Chowk. He appealed to international human rights organisations to take urgent notice of the alleged action.
RPG-7 Rocket Tail Fins And Drone Bomb Fragments Recovered
Meanwhile, at the Rawalakot Bus Terminal, where Rangers and FC personnel launched heavy gunfire and bombardment from 8 am to disperse the crowd, protesters recovered and displayed the tail fin of an RPG-7 rocket allegedly used by the Pakistani military.
They presented it as visual evidence that Pakistani forces were not only opening fire on peaceful demonstrators but were also carrying out aerial drone strikes and launching RPG-7 rockets at unarmed citizens.
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Casualties Rise As Police Label Demonstrators ‘Rioters’
At least seven protesters have been killed, while 23 others remain in critical condition following the combined firing, drone bombings and RPG rocket strikes allegedly carried out by Pakistani Rangers and FC personnel in Rawalakot.
In an official statement, the PoK Police accused the demonstrators of initiating gunfire and labelled them rioters. However, the police press release did not address the allegations concerning the use of drone attacks and RPG-7 rockets against civilians.
Following the alleged military-grade offensive by Pakistani Rangers and FC personnel, demonstrators gathered at the Omar Farooq Chowk sit-in site and raised slogans against the Pakistani military, Rangers, FC and PoK Police, condemning them as terror actors.
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