MASSIVE anti-Pakistan protests have erupted across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following a severe Government crackdown and the sweeping arrests of more than 600 civil rights activists. The high-profile detention of prominent protest leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir has triggered a major spike in tensions across the occupied territory, drawing a fierce ultimatum from the Joint Awami Action Committee (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, 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...” 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 protesters, “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 on Saturday, 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. In a major mobilisation effort targeting an unprecedented public turnout against Pakistani rule, the JAAC has issued a massive call for peaceful demonstrations across the region, aiming to gather half a million participants to demand fundamental rights.

 

The current unrest follows 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.