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Movement leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri urged students, parents, and civil society to join major demonstrations across the region
The fresh call to action follows months of compounding friction between local civil society groups and security forces in the region. File image/Reuters
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) has issued a fresh call for mass protests across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), targeting the systemic deprivation of basic education and healthcare services caused by security force deployments and blockades.
Addressing a key meeting in Rawalakot, movement leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri urged students, parents, and civil society to join major sit-in demonstrations across the regionwhile announcing plans for parallel solidarity marches in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Core Grievances: Education Restrictions and Hospital Blockades
The protest mobilisation centres on severe disruptions to public life caused by heavy military and paramilitary presence. The JKJAAC highlighted that Pakistani security forces have taken over educational institutions and major medical facilities across sensitive districts, imposing curfews and security blockades that prevent access to essential care and schooling.
Local student bodies have raised sharp questions regarding the military takeover of schools, colleges, and regional hospitals. Activists point out that sick and injured civilians are routinely turned away or unable to reach medical centres due to security cordons, while thousands of students remain locked out of their classrooms.
Protest Calendar: Local Mobilisation and International Solidarity
The JKJAAC outlined a multi-tiered demonstration plan aimed at pressuring authorities to lift security blockades and restore basic public services:
- Dhirkot Mass Sit-In: The primary demonstration is scheduled for 1:30 PM in Dhirkot within the Poonch division. Organisers have specifically appealed to mothers, sisters, and female students to lead the protest, asking families to bring children dressed in school uniforms and carrying their school bags as a visual symbol of denied education.
- Divisional Solidarity Drives: The committee has called upon residents and students in the Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions—where educational institutions remain partially open—to organise simultaneous solidarity rallies to back the population in the Poonch division.
- International Kashmiri Diaspora Marches: Taking the regional crisis to a global audience, the JKJAAC announced coordinated solidarity marches in Birmingham (UK) and Italy. The leadership appealed to the Kashmiri diaspora across Europe to mobilise in large numbers to highlight high-altitude human rights violations and administrative blockades.
Escalating Tensions Across PoK
The fresh call to action follows months of compounding friction between local civil society groups and security forces in the region. With ground logistics severely impacted by ongoing blockades and internet restrictions, the JKJAAC has vowed to sustain peaceful resistance until educational institutions are restored, medical facilities are freed from military presence, and detained local activists are released.
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Group Editor, Investigations and Security Affairs, Network18
August 29, 2026, 02:33 IST
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