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Muzaffarabad [PoJK] July 5 (ANI) The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) has called for widespread public participation in protests across Pakistan- occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK), accusing the Pakistani authorities of carrying out a campaign of arrests, enforced disappearances and intimidation against activists.
In a post shared on X, JKJAAC member Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri urged people from all regions of PoJK to join the movement, describing it as a collective stand against what he termed "cruelty, barbarism and state terrorism." Kashmiri said the committee had announced protests in every corner of the region and appealed to residents to participate despite what he alleged was an escalating crackdown by security forces. Addressing residents of Muzaffarabad, Jhelum Valley and Neelum districts in particular, he claimed that authorities had intensified coercive measures, including arrests and enforced disappearances of activists. According to him, such actions were being used to discourage public mobilisation, but he insisted that the campaign would continue. He urged supporters not to be intimidated by arrests, specifically referring to the detention of JKJAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir, which he portrayed as part of a broader effort to suppress dissent. Kashmiri maintained that the detention of movement leaders should strengthen, rather than weaken, public resolve. Calling on citizens to display "courage and bravery," he appealed to people to reject fear and continue participating in peaceful demonstrations. He further urged residents to come out of their homes wherever possible and raise their voices against what he described as widespread oppression. Watchdog group Amnesty International strongly condemned Pakistan's heavy-handed tactics ahead of upcoming regional elections in PoJK. Amnesty accused Pakistani 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 JAAC, labelling it a disproportionate attack on freedom of association and peaceful political activism. As local tensions simmer ahead of the regional polls, activists and watchdog groups alike continue to pressure the international community to hold Islamabad accountable. (ANI)
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