Rawalakot: Tensions have escalated dramatically across Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) following a massive protest call by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) for Sunday, directly defying the heavy-handed state apparatus. The rights group, leading a widespread agitation against administrative failures, has thrown down a direct challenge to Islamabad’s severe crackdown, demanding the immediate release of its unlawfully arrested leaders and activists.
In a massive escalation of this ongoing civil uprising against Pakistani rule, a grand public gathering of nearly 40,000 people, comprising children, women, elderly, and youth, has hit the streets at the Sardar Ghulam Hussain Khan Sports Stadium in Abbaspor, according to the JAAC. The peaceful demonstration for fundamental rights has rapidly transformed into a massive public rally, directly challenging the heavy-handed rule of the Pakistani establishment.
Exposing the violent tactics used by the Pakistani security apparatus to suppress this peaceful dissent, the JAAC reported that forces opened unprovoked fire and intense shelling on a civilian gathering at the AMB location in Dudial. The brutal state response has resulted in several severe injuries, with multiple peaceful demonstrators currently reported to be in critical condition. Despite these violent crackdowns, the resistance movement continues to swell across the occupied territory.
Large caravans of citizens, including children, women, and the elderly, are continuously arriving from various areas at a major protest sit-in in Dera Ismail Khan, where a massive crowd is chanting revolutionary slogans against state oppression. Further highlighting the expanding demographic reach of the movement, the JAAC noted that the daughters of Rawalakot and Chak are actively leading peaceful street protests for their basic rights, completely defying the intimidation tactics of Pakistani authorities.
This anti-Pakistan public outrage has also triggered major international blowback for Islamabad. Responding to the call of the Jammu Kashmir Joint People’s Action Committee, the Kashmiri diaspora staged a full-fledged demonstration in Auckland, New Zealand. According to the civil rights coalition, overseas protesters strongly condemned the high-profile arrest of core committee member Shaukat Nawaz Mir, demanding his immediate release alongside all other arbitrarily detained activists, while chanting slogans of “Long Live Kashmir” and “Long Live the People” against the ongoing systemic repression.
The sweeping nature of this regional anger directly follows the high-profile detention of Shaukat Nawaz Mir, which has triggered a major spike in tensions across the occupied territory and drawn a fierce ultimatum from the JAAC. In a post on X, the JAAC expressed deep resentment over the high-profile detention of its leadership, stating, “Ghulam is under their control. Shah is in captivity…” while calling for immediate public action under the hashtag #ReleaseShoukatNawazMir.
Exposing the acute shortages, systemic cruelty, and desperate humanitarian crisis under Pakistani rule that fueled this uprising, video footage of Sardar Aman Khan, a core member of the Jammu Kashmir JAAC, has gone viral on social media. Addressing a charged crowd in a widely shared clip, the timing of which is not mentioned, Khan explicitly pleaded, “To those in Mendhar, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda… we appeal to the people there. On this side, there is a shortage of rations, a shortage of medicines, and we need your help. We need your help.”
Exposing the sheer desperation of the local population to escape Pakistani control, the JAAC leader called for an end to the borders and reached out across the divide, stating, “We want the end of the ceasefire line and we need your support. My appeal to the people, to the people on the other side, is that they should come forward. And as I said, the paths… if we have kept the door open for political dialogue…”Political Debate Forum Slamming the high-handedness of Pakistani authorities, who have routinely used brute force to suppress civil rights movements in the occupied territory, Khan warned that the local population would no longer succumb to Islamabad’s threats.
“If we have kept the path open, and if someone thinks that by hearing our ‘weak knees’, that we are trapped somewhere, then they are mistaken. No one is trapped. We will show you the paths, God willing. After this, you will see all the paths, we will show them to you, God willing. We will show you the way after that, where the paths lie,” he told the cheering crowd. In another viral video, Khan, in a direct challenge to the security apparatus, asked a gathering of protestors, “Should we step towards the ceasefire line or not? Tell me loudly, should we step forward or not?” to which the crowd loudly roared, “Yes!”
Turning to journalists and commentators, Khan shouted, “Writers, write this down! See this! And people, tell me more loudly, should we step towards the ceasefire line or not?” eliciting another thunderous “Yes!” from the public. Issuing an explicit warning to the Pakistani regime over its violent crackdowns on peaceful dissent, the core JAAC member made it clear that the region is ready to retaliate against state-sponsored tyranny. “That is why we say to them that on this Kashmiri spirit and political stance, if the response is bullets, then we also have options. Don’t complain tomorrow, don’t express regret tomorrow that you felt bad,” Khan asserted.
Concluding his fiery address, Khan exposed the oppressive reality of living under Pakistani governance, declaring that locals would match Pakistan’s cruelty measure for measure. “We are not people according to your temperament. If you offer loyalty, we’ll offer loyalty; if you offer cruelty, we’ll offer cruelty. We are humans just like you. Whatever you do, we will do the same, God willing. There is nothing more to say than that. Well, friends, with that, overseas Kashmiris…”
In a separate video message released yesterday, Khan further detailed the broader regional dimensions of the ongoing civilian movement under the current administrative overreach. In the video message, Khan stated, “Through this message, I am addressing the people of the Kashmir Valley, specifically the people of Srinagar, the people of Baramulla, and all the surrounding districts. To the people of Poonch and the people of Mendhar. We are addressing the people of Rajouri, Jammu, Ladakh, Kargil, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the people across the entire state.”
“As you are all aware, it has been nearly a month now that Kashmir (PoJK) has been under such influence and oppression. For demanding their basic rights, the cruelty, injustice, massacre, and military aggression committed against the people here have reached their peak.” “In this extremely difficult phase, our food supply routes are closed, our medicine routes are closed. Even on the act of breathing, the rulers and forces here are in such a rage, questioning why the people here are even breathing.”
“In this time of hardship, we appeal to all the people, to those across the border, and especially to the people of Poonch, Mendhar, Rajouri, Jammu, the Valley, Ladakh, and Kargil. We have organised a protest on July 5, and we need the support of all of you. Certainly, you must come out, speak up for our rights, and raise your voice against this cruelty and injustice,” he said. To structurally manage this groundswell of public anger into an unprecedented public turnout against Pakistani rule, the JAAC issued a massive call for peaceful demonstrations across the region, aiming to gather half a million participants to demand fundamental rights.
Using its official handle on X, the committee laid out the demographic logic behind the massive uprising, listing the estimated population by district: “Estimated Population of PoJK by District: Muzaffarabad: 712,839; Neelum: 227,343; Jhelum Valley: 262,602; Bagh: 448,701; Haveli: 175,328; Poonch: 552,997; Sudhanoti: 316,456; Kotli: 809,712; Mirpur: 439,929; Bhimber: 442,968.” The JAAC further noted the collective strength of the heavily policed and disenfranchised local population, stating that the “Total Estimated Population: 4,388,875 (approximately 4.39 million).”
Making a detailed statistical case for a significant show of force, the committee declared, “If, on this day, July 5, 2026, at least 50,000 people come out from each of these 10 districts, the total number could reach 500,000 people.” Emphasising a strategic commitment to non-violence in the face of routinely brutal state responses to dissent, the JAAC surged the public, saying, “Come out peacefully for your rights. Hold a white flag, demonstrate discipline, and maintain peace.”
The civil rights coalition stated that this massive, peaceful show of unity is designed to bypass heavy-handed censorship in PoJK and directly grab the attention of the global community to isolate the Pakistani regime’s suppressive tactics. “Send this message to the world that we are only demanding our rights, and our protest is completely peaceful,” the JAAC asserted, indicating a concerted effort to create an undeniable international incident.
This planned mobilization answers a series of heavy-handed actions by Pakistani authorities. On June 30, the JAAC sharply criticised Islamabad after a political delegation led by opposition leaders was reportedly stopped from entering PoJK, describing the move as further evidence of the state’s suppression of democratic rights and political dissent. Activists state that Pakistani forces are currently using drones for surveillance of the people’s sit-in protests, prompting local leaders to call for a complete boycott of the local elections scheduled for July 27.
Prominent PoJK activist Amjad Ayub Mirza has raised grave concerns over the aggravating tensions, noting that the day normally used by Islamabad to falsely project regional solidarity has completely turned into a global platform for dissent. “The situation in Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir is getting worse by the hour. After the arrest of the leader of Joint Awami Action Committee Shaukat Nawaz Mir, so far more than 600 workers and activists of the committee have been arrested…”
“…On 5th of July, that was usually celebrated or observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day, in the name of the people of Kashmir Valley, is now being observed against Pakistan. Not only in PoJK, but also there are thousands of people who are going to turn up in London on July 5 and protest against brutalities committed by Pakistan in Pakistani-occupied J&K,” Mirza said. This domestic public outcry coincides with severe global pushback against Islamabad’s handling of local dissent. On July 2, the National Anti-Terrorism Front India staged a fierce protest outside the United Nations office, demanding immediate global intervention to address the escalating humanitarian crisis, reported killings, and systemic rights abuses.
Concurrently, global watchdog group Amnesty International strongly condemned Pakistan’s heavy-handed tactics ahead of the upcoming regional elections. Amnesty accused authorities of deploying violent measures to suppress peaceful political dissent and violate fundamental human rights, unlawfully designating the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) as a “proscribed organisation.”
Amnesty fiercely criticised the ban on the civil rights coalition, labelling it a disproportionate attack on freedom of association and peaceful political activism as international pressure continues to mount against Islamabad. Meanwhile, protests highlighting the state’s severe clampdown have also surfaced internationally. In Bradford, UK, during a cultural event attended by the Consul General of Pakistan in Bradford, Zahid Ahmed Khan, political activist from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Mahmood Kashmiri, sharply criticised Pakistan over human rights violations in the region. Interrupting the event, he raised his voice against the Pakistan Army, demanding it leave PoJK and end what he described as repression in the region.
