Concerns mount over excessive police brutality in Pok amid escalating unrest
Islamabad July 9 (IANS) As the unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has left dozens dead so far, continues to intensify, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) alleged that Pakistani police brutality, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, unlawful raids, and violations of fundamental rights have become increasingly widespread in the region.
The group said that these incidents have left countless families traumatised and raise serious concerns about the rule of law and the protection of basic human rights in the occupied territory.
In a video, shared by JAAC, a resident of PoK and medical doctor Masood Khalid recounted the police raid on his home and harassment he and his family allegedly endured.
“After this video gets shared, I’m certain that they will kill me. My name is Dr. Masood Khalid, and I’m the victim of police brutality,” said Khalid.
Narrating the incident, he said, “On the midnight of 7th July, 2026, at around 12:30 AM, while I was sleeping with my wife and my three children, approximately 35-40 people in police uniform with their faces covered with masks jumped over the walls of my house, and they came to me. They woke me up, and they started beating me. They were slapping me, punching me, hitting me, hitting me with the wooden rods, and kicking me. And I was only asking that I’m a medical doctor; what had I done?
“They started abusing me, and they dragged me, and they put me in the back of a pickup truck, and they started beating me again. They were calling bad names to my dead parents. They were abusing me constantly, and I was just asking continuously, “I’m a medical doctor. What had I done to deserve this?” And they were slapping me, and they were just abusing me. Of them, most of them were covered with masks,” Khalid added.
He claimed that among them only a few officers were without masks, including police officials Mehtab Aslam and Zohaib Shah.
“Zohaib Shah broke down everything in my house. He broke down the furniture, the solar system, and even the toys of my children. And he pushed my wife, and he abused my wife, and he threatened to kill us. They had pointed their guns at us. They were pointing their guns at my wife and my children, and I was only asking, what had I done? And they were constantly abusing me. They have broken down everything in my house. I’m in. I’m in mental trauma, and my wife and my children are deeply traumatised. We don’t know what we had done to deserve this,” he said in a broken voice.
Khalid urged the Pakistani authorities and international justice agencies to investigate the incident, hold those accountable, and ensure justice for him.
Furthermore, highlighting the deteriorating human rights situation in PoK, JAAC called on the international human rights organisations and the wider international community to urgently monitor, investigate, and respond to the incidents.
“Independent scrutiny, accountability, and justice are urgently needed. Those responsible for human rights violations must be held accountable in accordance with the law. No citizen should live in fear of those entrusted with upholding the law. Justice delayed is justice denied,” it noted.
–IANS
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