- Deaths from clashes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir rise to 20, per official figures
- Joint Awami Action Committee protests continue despite being banned last week
- Seven people died in Kotli during clashes, says local higher education minister
The death count from clashes between police and members of a protest movement in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has risen to 20, according to an AFP tally on Friday based on official figures.
Supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an anti-government movement demanding economic and governance reforms, have been pressing ahead with protests despite the group being banned under anti-terrorism laws last week.
Officials initially told AFP on Monday that seven people had been killed -- three civilians and four police officers -- and dozens wounded.
A new count on Friday saw the number of deaths rise sharply to 20.
The local government's higher education minister, Malik Zafar, told AFP that clashes between protesters and police had left seven people dead this week in his constituency of Kotli.
Commissioner Sardar Waheed, the top civilian official in the city of Rawalakot, told AFP 12 people had been killed, including the four police officers.
Khurram Iqbal, a senior police official in the city of Mirpur, said a protester had died during clashes with police on Wednesday.
Many shops in the main city of Muzaffarabad have closed this week in support of the JAAC's calls for businesses to strike, and mobile internet has been largely inaccessible for residents, according to an AFP journalist in the area.
