Geneva, Aug. 31 -- Alleging a sustained crackdown on civilians in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, President of the United Kashmir People's National Party, has accused Pakistan of using force against peaceful protesters, carrying out mass arrests and enforced disappearances, restricting access to legal representation and maintaining a prolonged suspension of internet services.

Speaking in Geneva, Kashmiri said the ongoing unrest was not an isolated reaction to electricity prices or economic hardship, but part of a much longer history of deprivation, denial of basic rights, political disempowerment and inadequate infrastructure.

He described the current movement led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami...