At least nine people were killed and 12 others wounded in clashes between supporters of a banned protest group and security forces in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, an official said Wednesday.
Supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a movement demanding economic and governance reforms, vowed to march toward the regional capital Muzaffarabad this week in defiance of official warnings.
"Seven civilians, one paramilitary personnel and one police officer were killed during violence that erupted on Tuesday," Sardar Waheed, the top civilian official in Poonch district, where protests have been heavily concentrated, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The authorities will stop the march if the protesters attempt to proceed toward the capital," Waheed added.
The unrest follows a local government ban on the JAAC under anti-terrorism laws in June, after which clashes between protesters and police killed 22 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
