MUZAFFARABAD – The high-profile arrest of banned JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir sparked new confusion. As reports surfaced about his detention amid crackdown, Azad Kashmir Police denied the reports, saying the wanted leader remains at large as search operations continue.
The conflicting claims over reported arrest of senior leader of banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) took dramatic turn as authorities rejected reports of his detention. Several publications shared reports of his arrest and were subsequently carried by social media outlets, while BBC Urdu also claimed that Mir had been arrested during a security operation.
Recent Video Purports to Show Detained Shoukat Nawaz Mir Receiving Treatment for a Head Injury at an Undisclosed Location. pic.twitter.com/IlEylH2dSi
— Startup Kashmir Records (@startupkashmirr) July 1, 2026
According to police officials, Mir is wanted in multiple criminal cases and was the target of a recent law enforcement operation. Although security personnel attempted to apprehend him, he reportedly managed to evade arrest. Authorities said raids are continuing at various locations in an effort to track him down.
Earlier reports claimed that Mir was taken into custody near Airan Nullah in the Dhirkot subdivision of Bagh district following an intelligence-based operation. Those reports also alleged that two other suspects had been detained and that security agencies were simultaneously searching for two additional wanted JAAC leaders, Sohaib Javed and Hafeez Hamdani. Police have not officially confirmed those claims.
The reports prompted high alert across parts of Muzaffarabad, where police erected barricades around roads leading to Mir’s neighbourhood. Several businesses remained closed as a precaution amid fears of possible unrest, although officials maintained that the overall law and order situation in the state capital remained under control.
Authorities allege that banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been involved in inciting the public against the state. Officials also accuse the organization of campaigning for the abolition of reserved refugee seats in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Azad Kashmir Home Department earlier announced Rs1 crore reward for information leading to arrest of each of the four individuals. The wanted list also includes Umar Nazir Kashmiri, Khawaja Mehran Arshad, and Sardar Aman.
Before emerging as of JAAC’s most recognizable leaders and principal spokespersons during the group’s protest movement, Mir gained prominence after being elected president of Muzaffarabad’s traders’ association under the “one shop, one vote” system, representing nearly 10,000 shopkeepers.
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