Thousands of British Kashmiris Demonstrate in London and Demand Pakistan Immediately End AJK Lockdown and Open Dialogue with JKJAAC
7/5/20263 min read
Thousands of British Kashmiris and supporters gathered in London today to protest the worsening human rights and humanitarian protection emergency in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and to submit an urgent memorandum to the Prime Minister of Pakistan through the Pakistan High Commission in London.
The protesters demanded that the Government of Pakistan immediately end the ongoing crackdown, restore communications, open all routes into AJK, allow humanitarian access, release peaceful detainees, and enter into meaningful negotiations with the recognised leadership of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC).
The memorandum states that almost one month after an earlier petition was handed to the Pakistan High Commission on 8 June 2026 and on other occasions in Pakistan Consulate General Offices in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and Glasgow, the situation has deteriorated rather than improved, with continuing reports of communications shutdowns, blocked entry routes, restrictions on food and medicines, hospital-access problems, mass arrests, missing-person concerns, Fourth Schedule restrictions, economic reprisals and curfew-like conditions in Rawalakot and across AJK.
According to the Human Rights Situation Report, more than 60,000 peaceful civilians are reportedly participating in the Dharake / Eidgah Ground sit-in in Rawalakot, while tens of thousands more are gathered at key entry points into Rawalakot.
The memorandum warns that continued blockade, blackout, arrests and refusal to negotiate risk turning a political and civic dispute into a wider humanitarian catastrophe.
Key Demands of the London Protesters
1. Immediately halt all force, raids and arrests against civilians, peaceful protesters, JKJAAC members, journalists, lawyers and families.
2. Restore internet, mobile, telephone, messaging and banking services across Pakistan-administered AJK.
3. Open all entry routes into AJK and Rawalakot and allow safe movement of civilians, ambulances, doctors, journalists, humanitarian organisations and essential supplies.
4. Permit immediate humanitarian access for food, medicines, milk, baby formula, fuel, ambulances, medical teams and independent humanitarian monitors.
5. Release all peaceful detainees, or produce them before competent courts with access to lawyers, families and medical care.
6. Publish verified lists of all dead, injured, arrested, detained, released, transferred, missing and hospitalised persons.
7. End the use of anti-terror laws and Fourth Schedule restrictions against peaceful civil rights activists and JKJAAC members.
8. Stop home raids, intimidation of families and collective punishment, including reprisals against relatives of activists in AJK or abroad.
9. Allow the Government of AJK to resolve the crisis through political negotiations, free from coercive interference and security pressure.
10. Enter immediately into meaningful dialogue with JKJAAC through a credible, public and time-bound negotiation process.
11. Implement previously agreed commitments, including the Muzaffarabad Agreement, through a clear roadmap and verifiable deadlines.
12. Establish an independent judicial inquiry into reported civilian killings, injuries, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance allegations, denial of medical access, property damage, communications shutdowns and use of force.
Statement from the Demonstrators
“The people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir are not enemies. They are peaceful citizens demanding dignity, justice, democratic accountability and fulfilment of agreed commitments. The Government of Pakistan must stop treating civil-rights demands as a security threat and immediately open negotiations with JKJAAC.”
A spokesperson for the British Kashmiri demonstrators added: “The way forward is not force. The way forward is dialogue. The way forward is not blackout. The way forward is transparency. Pakistan must lift the lockdown, restore communications, open the roads, allow food and medicines in, release peaceful detainees, and talk to JKJAAC now.”
Background
Since 8 June 2026, members of the Kashmiri diaspora in the United Kingdom have submitted an urgent petition to the Prime Minister of Pakistan through the Pakistan High Commission in London, and Pakistan Consulate General offices in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and Glasgow calling for de-escalation, medical access, restoration of communications, release or court production of detainees, withdrawal of the proscription of JKJAAC, and immediate dialogue.
The latest memorandum states that those demands remain unanswered, while the humanitarian and human rights situation has worsened further.
The demonstrators urged Pakistan to honour its stated commitment to uphold the dignity, civil and political rights, and right to peaceful assembly of the people of AJK.
Core Message
“Lift the lockdown. Restore communications. Open the roads. Allow food and medicines in. Release peaceful detainees. Stop raids on homes. End reprisals. Let AJK breathe. Let AJK speak. Let AJK negotiate. Talk to JKJAAC now.”
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