India, June 8 -- Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is witnessing widespread unrest, large-scale deployment of security forces and near-total shutdown conditions across several regions, according to intelligence-linked and Line of Control battalion inputs, amid escalating tensions over political representation, reserved assembly seats and a crackdown on a major protest movement.

Intelligence inputs received from Line of Control battalion-linked sources indicated that major protests are underway in Rawalakot, Kotli and Hajira, with Rawalakot emerging as the epicentre of the latest unrest.

The protests come against the backdrop of weeks of tension between authorities and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a mass mobilisation platform that ha...