The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee has given Islamabad 48 hours to accept its demands, warning of a “grand and final response” on July 9 as anti-government protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir enter a sharper confrontation with the authorities.
The ultimatum marks a fresh escalation by the JAAC, a broad civil mobilisation platform that has led strikes, rallies and shutdowns across Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Mirpur, Kotli and other towns. Its leaders have accused the federal and regional authorities of reneging on earlier commitments, suppressing peaceful dissent and using the police and administrative machinery to break a movement built around political representation, public subsidies and limits on official privilege.
The committee’s demands centre on the abolition of 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan, the release of arrested activists, withdrawal of cases against protest leaders, implementation of earlier agreements, and an end to what it describes as elite privileges enjoyed by ministers, lawmakers and senior officials. The refugee-seat issue has become the most politically sensitive point in the dispute, with JAAC leaders arguing that the arrangement dilutes the voice of residents of the territory and allows Islamabad to shape the regional legislature through voters who do not live there.
The warning comes weeks after protests turned deadly during a region-wide shutdown called by the committee. Clashes in Rawalakot and other areas left civilians and police personnel dead, while hundreds of activists and supporters were detained. Authorities imposed road closures, suspended internet services in several areas and deployed additional security forces to block protest convoys and gatherings. The crackdown has widened the dispute from a political-reform campaign into a broader rights confrontation.
JAAC’s leadership has framed the July 9 deadline as a decisive test of Islamabad’s willingness to negotiate. The committee says the protests will intensify if the authorities fail to deliver on its charter, which has expanded from economic grievances to questions of political autonomy and constitutional representation. Activists have also demanded cheaper electricity, wheat flour subsidies, fair distribution of resources and cuts in perks for the ruling class.
The federal government and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir administration have rejected the committee’s pressure tactics, saying several demands have already been addressed and that the refugee seats cannot be removed by executive order. Officials have maintained that the seats are constitutionally protected and that any change would require a formal constitutional process. They have also accused protest organisers of seeking to destabilise the region ahead of assembly elections scheduled for July 27.
The dispute over the 12 seats has become the immediate trigger for the latest confrontation. The assembly has 53 members, including seats reserved for refugees from Jammu and Kashmir living in Pakistan. JAAC argues that the system gives non-resident voters disproportionate influence over the territory’s politics. Government figures say the arrangement reflects the legacy of displacement caused by the Kashmir conflict and cannot be scrapped under street pressure.
The confrontation hardened after the regional Supreme Court upheld the constitutional status of the reserved seats. The ruling narrowed the room for administrative compromise and pushed the dispute towards the election calendar. JAAC’s agitation now threatens to overshadow the campaign, with the committee trying to convert street mobilisation into pressure for structural reform before voting takes place.
The arrest of key leaders has further inflamed tensions. Shaukat Nawaz Mir, one of the most prominent figures associated with the movement, faces sedition-related allegations linked to the unrest. Other organisers have also been targeted through warrants, raids and detentions. The committee has insisted that the cases are politically motivated and designed to cripple a mass movement before the elections.
Human rights concerns have grown as the crackdown has expanded. Internet restrictions, mass arrests and curbs on assembly have disrupted daily life and business activity across the territory. Traders, transporters, labourers and shopkeepers have been hit by repeated shutdowns, while protest organisers say the economic pain is a result of the authorities’ refusal to settle long-standing grievances.
The JAAC movement first gained wider traction through campaigns over electricity tariffs, flour prices and local rights, but it has since evolved into a larger challenge to the power structure governing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Its supporters include traders, transport workers, civil society groups, lawyers, students and local activists. The committee’s strength lies in its ability to shut markets and roads across multiple districts at short notice.
