Islamabad, July 1, 2026
As the ongoing unrest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has claimed dozens of lives so far, continues to escalate, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) said that the arrest of its leader, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, by Pakistani authorities would make the movement stronger rather than weakening it.
Mir, leader of the recently proscribed JAAC, was taken into custody in PoK’s Dhirkot area on Tuesday, local media reported, citing an official.
The situation in the occupied territory remains tense after the Pakistani authorities decided to ban the JAAC, as the group continues its sit-in and pledges to sustain the protest until its “legitimate demands” are accepted.
Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Munir Qureshi confirmed Mir’s arrest to leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune.
The JAAC alleged that Mir was detained before he could reach the protest site, claiming that a joint operation by Pakistani intelligence agencies, police, and other state institutions led to his arrest.
“Certainly, if Shaukat Nawaz Mir had reached the sit-in, the morale of the people would have multiplied several times over, their spirits would have soared even higher, the numbers of participants would have swelled, and a new energy would have surged everywhere… Unfortunately, it seems that during his attempt to reach the sit-in, he was arrested due to a combing operation by intelligence agencies, police, and other institutions,” the group stated.
“But one thing the entire nation must remember, public movements do not rely on the support of any single individual… This is not just Shaukat Nawaz Mir’s movement, nor solely that of the core members… This is the movement of the entire public,” it added.
Following Mir’s arrest, the JAAC further said that the “people will be his morale, his voice, and will carry his mission forward… This movement will not weaken from any arrest but will emerge even more powerful than before.”
In a separate statement, JAAC stated that along with Mir, fellow member Saib Javed had also been arrested, describing the two leaders as campaigners for “the people’s rights, justice and a better future”.
“Those who had stepped out to become the voice of their own people became the target of their own people’s silence and betrayal. History bears witness that in every era, such ‘shepherds’ have existed who trade grand causes for their petty conveniences. But this is also history’s lesson: let the people hold fast — the voice of truth and sacrifice can never be silenced. One voice can be suppressed, but not resolve. One person can be caught, but not the movement,” it stressed.
Meanwhile, Naseem Baloch, chairman of the Baloch National Movement (BNM), strongly condemned the arrest of Mir, stating that Pakistan only knows the language of “force, arrests, and terror”.
“But occupied lands are not conquered by fear, and oppressed nations are not subdued by prisons,” Naseem posted on X.(Agency)
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