Pakistan cyber agency files case against Kashmir protest leader

Pakistan’s federal cybercrime agency has registered a case against a prominent protest leader from Pakistan-administered Kashmir over a speech authorities say contained threatening and inflammatory content.

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) filed a First Information Report, No. 54/2026, on March 25 at the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad against Shoukat Nawaz Mir, a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC).

According to the FIR, Mir, son of Habib Ullah Mir, is accused under sections 9, 10, 20 and 26-A of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, read with section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The agency said the case relates to a speech Mir delivered at a public gathering that was later recorded and widely shared on social media, including on his Facebook profile “Tajran Da Veer” as a video reel.

The FIR alleges that Mir “willfully and knowingly” disseminated provocative and inflammatory statements against state officials and institutions with the intent to create fear, panic and insecurity among the public and to coerce or overawe the government.

It further claims the speech included unsubstantiated allegations accusing state institutions and leadership of complicity in violence and failure to maintain law and order, promoting unrest and hostility toward state authorities.

An internal inquiry, No. 687/2026, was conducted before the FIR was registered with the permission of the competent authority. An investigation is underway.

Mir denies allegations

Mir, when contacted, strongly denied the allegations and expressed surprise over the case.

“I did not say anything in my speech that would justify registering an FIR,” he said. “It is being claimed that I spoke against the institutions. There was no such thing at all. We have always talked about the supremacy of the institutions and the security of Pakistan.”

He acknowledged addressing Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir during the speech, saying he made a request.

“I addressed the Field Marshal and said: ‘Please listen to us as well. You have brought peace all over the world, for God’s sake, now pay attention to this Kashmir where we are suffering,’” Mir said. “That is the request I made.”

He said he did not speak against the Pakistan Army, Pakistani institutions or the army chief. “The Field Marshal is respectable to us. He has always stood with us Kashmiris,” Mir said.

On his next steps, Mir said he would seek legal advice.

“For now, this FIR has been registered in Pakistan. I will gather legal information about how to deal with it,” he said, adding that the Cyber Crime Act is not yet applicable in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and that he has limited information about the law.

Mir said he believes there has been a misunderstanding and that he would continue to address the army chief in the future.

Mir is a core member of the JKJAAC, which led protests and strikes across Pakistan-administered Kashmir in September and October 2025.

The movement called for political reforms, economic relief and an end to certain privileges, including 12 refugee seats in the assembly of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Large parts of the region were brought to a standstill before the protests ended in a negotiated agreement with federal and regional authorities.

Supporters of the committee and several political figures in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have described the FIR as baseless and an attempt to suppress dissenting voices.

The development has sparked debate on social media and in local political circles about freedom of expression in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the use of cyber laws against political speech.

No arrest has been reported so far. The NCCIA investigation continues.