Archive · 16 Sep 2026
PoK Action Committee Calls Four-Day Consultations Amid Continuing Protests
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee is organizing four days of meetings in Dareek.
The meetings will include transporters, private schools, traders and students.
Each group will meet on a different day from September 17 to 20.
The committee wants to discuss what the protest movement should do next.
It says traders and transporters were important in earlier protests.
The movement has demanded lower electricity and food costs and changes to governance.
Its leader accused authorities of arresting and mistreating protesters.
Those accusations could not be independently verified.
Pakistani authorities have disputed some casualty accounts and accused protesters of violence.
The JKJAAC will hold consultations in Dareek from September 17 to 20 with transporters, private schools, traders and students.
Transport representatives are scheduled for September 17, private school associations for September 18, traders for September 19 and students for September 20.
Leader Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri said the meetings aim to broaden coordination around the movement’s future course.
Kashmiri alleged that a crackdown since June 5 killed several people, led to hundreds of arrests and left others missing; the claims were not independently verified.
The movement’s demands include implementing earlier agreements, reducing electricity and food costs, and pursuing wider governance reforms.
- Who
- The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, led by Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri, along with traders, transporters, private schools, lawyers, religious scholars and students.
- What
- The committee announced four days of consultations to coordinate the next phase of its rights movement.
- When
- The consultations are scheduled for September 17–20, 2026; the announcement was reported on September 16, 2026.
- Where
- Dareek, with participation sought from groups across Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
- Why
- To broaden coordination around the movement’s future course and discuss its demands, including lower electricity and food costs and governance reforms.
JAAC and Protesters
Pakistani Authorities
Crackdown and casualties
JAAC and Protesters
Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri alleged that since June 5, several people were killed, hundreds of youths were arrested, others went missing, and some activists were tortured or denied medical treatment. These claims were not independently verified.
Pakistani Authorities
Pakistani officials said seven civilians and four law-enforcement personnel were killed during June violence and have disputed accounts of the protest movement’s casualties.
Character of the movement
JAAC and Protesters
The JAAC says its campaign is focused on public and economic rights, including lower electricity and food costs, implementation of earlier agreements and governance reforms.
Pakistani Authorities
Authorities accused JAAC protesters of violence and subsequently proscribed the organization.
Political representation
JAAC and Protesters
The movement has protested the reservation of 12 legislative assembly seats for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan, arguing that it distorts local political representation.
Pakistani Authorities
The articles do not state the authorities’ specific response to this representation issue.
- Consultation dates
- September 17–20, 2026
- Location
- Dareek
- Schedule
- Transporters on September 17; private schools on September 18; traders on September 19; students on September 20
- Movement leader
- Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri
- Reported June violence
- Pakistani officials said seven civilians and four law-enforcement personnel were killed, with dozens injured.
- Main demands
- Implementation of earlier agreements, lower electricity tariffs and food costs, and wider governance reforms
- Recent protest action
- A September 9 shutdown affected parts of the Muzaffarabad, Poonch and Mirpur divisions, according to reports.