A British national has reportedly been shot dead and another held in detention for more than two months as part of the violence in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The semi-autonomous Himalayan territory voted in the final phase of a contentious local election on Monday following weeks of clashes between protesters and security forces that overshadowed the campaign. According to Amnesty International, the violence has so far killed at least 34 civilians and six security personnel. Mohammad Akhtar, 50, from Peterborough, who was killed on 9 June when Pakistani security forces allegedly opened fire at protesters demanding electoral and economic reforms. Akhtar was staying in Kotli, close to the protest site, but wasn’t participating in the demonstration when he was “hit by a stray bullet”, his family claimed. “There was a bullet wound on the side of his chest,” his cousin Mohammad Saad told the Guardian. A woman votes in the second phase of the legislative assembly election in Muzaffarabad on 2 August 2026 (AFP/Getty)Another British national, Waqas Arif, 38, was reportedly detained in Mirpur on 5 June. His family insisted that he did not participate in any protest. The protests, led by the now-banned Joint Awami Action Committee, are centred around a demand to abolish 12 legislative seats reserved for people displaced from India-administered Kashmir since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. The seats were created to provide representation to people displaced from India-administered Kashmir who settled elsewhere in Pakistan because Pakistan-administered Kashmir lacked the capacity to accommodate them. The Awami Action Committee argues that the arrangement gives disproportionate political influence to people living outside the region.“Waqas was not involved in any kind of protests. But since my other two brothers were involved and went for the protests with everybody else, the Pakistani forces along with the Rangers came into my house and they took my brothers away,” his sister said. She said her brothers had not been charged yet. “They have not even been taken to court,” she added. The Independent contacted the Pakistani interior ministry for comment but didn’t get an immediate response. A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent in a statement that the UK was “deeply concerned by the situation” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. While the office would not comment on an individual case, it said minister for intergovernmental relations Hamish Falconer had raised the situation directly with his interlocutors during a visit to Islamabad. Stephen Doughty, the minister of state, had been in contact with Pakistani authorities about the “recent developments”, the office said, “and met with the Kashmir All Party Parliamentary Group on 5 August to discuss the ongoing situation in Pakistan-administered Kashmir”.The UK updated its travel advisory on 7 August urging British nationals to avoid the region unless it was essential. Supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee gather during a protest in Rawalakot, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on 24 June 2026 (AFP/Getty)According to Mr Arif’s wife Varisha Kampulvi, British authorities had been unable to make direct contact with him since his detention but had informed her on 26 June that the consular staff had managed to connect with officials at the prison he was held at. “The authorities have confirmed that Waqas is in good health,” she told the Guardian, adding that the family were “extremely pleased” to hear that.The final phase of the regional election began on Monday despite a boycott call by the Awami Action Committee, which was recently banned under anti-terrorism laws.Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party has already secured a majority after winning 24 of the 34 seats contested in the first two phases of voting. The party is set to form the regional government for the first time in a decade. Kashmir is controlled in part but claimed in whole by both India and Pakistan. The rival neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the disputed territory since gaining independence from British rule.