Tensions Escalate in PoK: Anti-Terror Law Invoked Against Civil Rights Alliance Ahead of June 9 Strike

Muzaffarabad: The political and social landscape of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK, officially referred to locally as Azad Jammu and Kashmir or AJK) has reached a boiling point. 

The Home Department has officially proscribed the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) under the Anti-Terrorism Act, just days ahead of a massive territory-wide shutdown and wheel-jam strike scheduled for June 9, 2026.

The ban comes amid mounting public anger against the Pakistani government, with local leadership accusing Islamabad and Muzaffarabad of decades of betrayal and failing to honour written agreements regarding regional autonomy, civil rights, and economic subsidies.

Decades of Alleged Betrayal

The current wave of unrest is a major escalation of a long-standing rights movement in the region. 

Public resentment has intensified following the breakdown of marathon nine-hour negotiations between federal ministerial teams from Pakistan and the JAAC's core leadership.

Local leaders allege that the state has repeatedly reneged on its commitments, particularly concerning a 37-point agreement drafted after intense protests last year over soaring inflation, electricity tariffs, and wheat subsidies.

The single most contentious roadblock in recent talks is the demand to abolish 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Pakistan-based refugees. 

JAAC claims these seats are filled using "fake State Subject certificates" to benefit influential political figures rather than genuine stakeholders.

Citizens are protesting the allocation of local land and resources to elite and undeserving individuals under the guise of welfare for the "local destitute."

The scheduled general elections for the final week of July 2026 are now heavily shadowed by this prolonged civil agitation.

Ban, Detentions, and Internet Blackouts

In an attempt to neutralise the mobilisation, the government has launched a sweeping preemptive crackdown across the territory.

The Home Department formally declared the JAAC, a committee backed heavily by local traders, lawyers, students, and civil society, a proscribed terrorist organisation.

Internet services have been completely shut down for over a week in several sensitive sectors to block coordination and halt the spread of protest videos on social media.

Reports indicate that multiple senior leaders of the Action Committee have already been detained during night raids, with several activists reportedly injured in initial skirmishes with law enforcement.

Shaukat Nawaz Mir Issues Defiant Ultimatum

Despite the heavy-handed state response, JAAC central leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir issued a defiant audio-visual message to his supporters. Mir warned the establishment that the public's resolve remains unshaken. 

He declared that if the government’s aggressive crackdown, arrests, and harassment do not cease immediately before June 9, the territory-wide "shut-down and wheel-jam" strike will be triggered prematurely and be effective immediately.

The alliance has detailed an extensive protest blueprint starting June 9, involving massive public marches from Bhimber, Mirpur, and Kotli toward Rawalakot, culminating in a mega-rally in the regional capital Muzaffarabad on June 10.

With the government opting for force and security deployments intensifying across key regional hubs, the coming days threaten to push the highly volatile region into total administrative paralysis.

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