Members of a protest movement in Pakistan-administered Kashmir said they would hold demonstrations on Tuesday, days after the local government banned the group under anti-terror laws.

The stand-off presented the possibility of renewed unrest in the Himalayan region, which was shaken by violent clashes during protests in September involving members of the same anti-government group.

The Azad Kashmir government, which oversees the Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed region, on Friday listed the Joint Awami Action Committee under anti-terror laws, saying it had ‘engaged in terrorism’ by ‘creating anarchy’.

Police said they had detained 72 members of the JAAC on Saturday.

The group, which is protesting against authorities to demand economic and governance reforms, was quick to deny the allegations and said it would go ahead with previously planned protests on June 9.

‘We are not against any country, institution or individual — to link our peaceful struggle with terrorism is a great oppression,’ said Shaukat Nawaz Mir, a JAAC member in an audio message on Saturday night.

‘God willing, on the morning of 9th June, a historic and meaningful long march will be started... I appeal to the people to be organised and united.’

The JAAC last year released a charter of demands, including the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for those who left what is now the India-administered portion of Kashmir.

The JAAC says the seats are used by major Pakistani political parties to tip the composition of the local parliament in their favour with those who mostly reside outside the region.

It has also been calling for economic reforms to lower energy prices and provide free healthcare.

Pakistan’s minister for parliamentary affair Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Sunday most of those demands had been met.

‘It’s negative and false propaganda that government hasn’t addressed the demands. Out of 38 demands, 35 have been addressed,’ he said at a media conference.

The mood in Muzaffarabad, the largest city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, was tense on Sunday with a visible security force presence and residents rushing to stock up on supplies in markets for fear of looming lockdowns, according to an AFP journalist.

‘Metrics show a major disruption to internet connectivity in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir,’ international digital monitor Netblocks reported and residents said they could not access mobile internet over the weekend.

The United Kingdom’s foreign office updated its guidance on Saturday, telling its citizens to avoid ‘all but essential travel’ to the area.

Many JAAC supporters said after the ban was announced that they would still come out to protest.

‘This decision has neither weakened the committee’s resolve nor diminished public support,’ said Muhammad Al Musadiq, a 23-year old student and JAAC supporter in Muzaffarabad.

The crackdown also drew criticism by rights groups and some politicians in Pakistan.

‘Wrong decision at wrong time, repeating past mistakes of mishandling dissent,’ Mushahid Hussain Sayed, former head of the Pakistan Senate’s defence committee, posted on X, calling the use of anti-terror laws against political dissenters ‘misguided’.

Days of violent clashes between police and protesters led by the JAAC had gripped Pakistan’s Kashmir in September, with nine confirmed killed.

Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but has been divided between them since their independence from British rule.

The area is considered highly sensitive by the Pakistani military and government after years of frequent skirmishes and full-blown wars with India.