JAAC | Pakistan

Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) police said on Thursday that eight highway police personnel on election duty had been “abducted” by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). Addressing a televised press conference, police spokesperson Khawar Ali Shaukat alleged that the JAAC attacked security forces deputed on election duty in the region. “Eight highway police officials on election duty were abducted,” he said as state media shared a collage of the officials’ pictures. “The personnel are in the custody of JAAC and have been subjected to brutal abuse,” he said. He said that the “miscreants also threatened the families of the personnel that they would be martyred if their demands were not met”. He said that recent events showed that the JAAC was not a peaceful group, but a violent one intent on challenging the state’s writ and weakening institutions. “I want to make it clear that the state was not and is not weak. The state has always shown restraint,” he said, adding that violent acts for the sake of rights...

Bilawal says JAAC response received

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said he had received a response from the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to his letter proposing the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, adding that the party would now consult key stakeholders to determine the way forward. The PPP has repeatedly called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission amid protests in AJK. Over the past month, the regional administration and the JAAC have been at odds over various issues — most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947, which has resulted in protests across the region. In a post on X, Bilawal welcomed the group’s “willingness to engage with the proposed commission” as a possible institutional mechanism to address the crisis, noting that the proposal had also been endorsed by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislativ...

Bilawal says he will study JAAC’s proposal and consult AJK government and stakeholders to build consensus

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police on Wednesday said that 26 personnel were martyred this year during incidents of unrest as they accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of deliberately targeting law enforcement agencies (LEAs). Addressing a press conference, AJK police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Riaz Mughal said that members of the proscribed JAAC were “martyring and injuring rangers and police personnel” in AJK. “In 2026 only, 26 of our personnel were martyred, while 157 were seriously injured, and 629 faced minor injuries,” he said, without mentioning the specific incidents in which the casualties occurred. “After this figure, how can you say that they are peaceful protesters?” the SSP asked. The police spokesperson further said, “Our institutions don’t target anyone. We only target those who target our personnel.” The police official’s remarks come after clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot on Monday and Mirpur on Tuesday, wh...

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police on Wednesday accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of working under an “agenda”, saying that sophisticated weapons had been seized from arrested suspects. Addressing a press conference, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khawar Ali Shaukat alleged that the incidents in Rawalakot had demonstrated that the organisation’s narrative of peaceful protest was inconsistent with events on the ground. “The violent incidents, acts of provocation and attacks on security forces have made the reality clear,” he said, adding that it was the legal and constitutional responsibility of law enforcement agencies to act whenever police or other security personnel came under attack. The SSP alleged that armed groups had ambushed officials at different locations across the city over the past two days and opened fire on security personnel with sophisticated weapons. He said one Rangers official was martyred while around 15 police officers and other law enforcement personnel...

Armed elements backing JAAC protests

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday, while referring to the recent violence in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said the protests by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) were not peaceful but violent, alleging the involvement of militant elements pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding. “Peaceful and transparent elections were held in AJK, with all the mainstream political parties participating fully. The people of Kashmir responded to the call of the election,” he stated, referring to the first phase of elections held in the region on Monday. In Rawalakot alone, a total of 600,000 votes were cast, making it a massive success, he said, adding that political parties held public rallies and conducted their election campaigns as usual. “The response from the people was spectacular.” However, he said, the banned outfit could not accept this political activity and the peaceful and transparent elections. He also referred to the press conference held earlier in the day by senior...

JAAC claims use of 'indiscriminate violence', while AJK police say protesters are challenging the 'writ of the state'

• No untoward incident reported in Poonch, Sudhnoti • Thousands gather at Rawalakot’s Eidgah Ground ahead of march • JAAC says it wrote to army chief after concerns failed to reach him through official channels • AJK home secretary says coordinated campaigns carried out on social media to incite people MUZAFFARABAD: The proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on Wednesday deferred for one week its planned long march on Muzaffarabad after back-channel contacts involving influential intermediaries raised hopes of a negotiated settlement to the ongoing standoff. Contrary to widespread fears of fresh violence, no untoward incident was reported from the troubled districts of Poonch and Sudhnoti during the day, while life remained normal across the rest of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Official and political sources in Rawalakot told Dawn that several thousand people, including women and children, had gathered at Eidgah Ground in anticipation of the march, while a smaller crowd assembled at the Mutyalmera bu...

JAAC using 'social media to incite people'

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Tuesday said that an operation was under way in the region to clear obstacles created by the banned Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee (JAAC) at entry and exit points, warning that the government would treat “blackmailers” with an “iron hand”. “The clearance operation will continue until all routes are opened,” AJK Home Secretary Chaudhry Guftar Hussain said during a press conference. Hussain also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting human lives and ensuring the continuation of economic and business activities in the region. “The state is committed to protecting human lives and property against all threats and to ensuring the continuation of economic, educational and business activities, and restoring normalcy across the region,” the home secretary said at the press conference. “The state will not accept any threat or blackmail, and all blackmailers will be treated with an iron hand,” he warned. The home secretary also shared details of a vi...

Officials warn students may be used as human shields during JAAC protests

AJK suspends 20 education employees over JAAC protest

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Sunday decided to establish a “grand” Kashmir peace jirga to facilitate dialogue between the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government and the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in an effort to restore stability and normalcy in the region. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s central Majlis-i-Shura chaired by JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman at Mansoorah, Lahore. According to a press release, the jirga will engage both the government and the JAAC, with the restoration of peace and the resolution of issues in AJK identified as its top priorities. To oversee the initiative, Rehman constituted a committee headed by JI Deputy Emir Liaqat Baloch. The committee included JI AJK Emir Dr Muhammad Mushtaq Khan and the party’s former regional chiefs Abdul Rashid Turabi and Dr Khalid Mahmood. The JI chief also indicated that the committee would be expanded to include former civil bureaucrats, retired judges, ex-military officials and members of civil society from AJK. The Shura exp...

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Friday welcomed the latest assertions by a senior leader of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) about the ‘misuse’ of the platform by some individuals. Sharing a video clip of the address by senior JAAC leader Umar Nazir Kashmari at the Eidgah sit-in on the outskirts of Rawalakot, the AJK PM called it a ‘positive’ development. “Positive. Now let’s talk and resolve issues on the table instead of [the] streets,” PM Rathore wrote. In his speech on Thursday night, Mr Kashmiri distanced the alliance from controversial speeches and slogans delivered from its platform, insisting that only remarks by its core leadership should be regarded as the organisation’s official position. He had told the protesters that JAAC’s struggle was confined to the demands laid down in its charter and had no connection with personal, ideological or organisational agendas advanced by individuals. “Our Charter of Demands, our agreement and our standard operat...

• Sets July 14 as deadline for ‘acceptance’ of its demands • Two die near Rawalakot as forces clear path for convoy carrying food items MUZAFFARABAD: The proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) announced on Thursday that it would resume its long march on Muzaffarabad on July 15, if its demands remained unmet. Addressing participants at the Eidgah sit-in, JAAC core member Umar Nazir Kashmiri said the alliance would stage a long march on Muzaffarabad on July 15 if its charter of demands was not implemented by July 14. He said the long march, which had been halted in Rawalakot on June 10, would resume under the already announced standard operating procedures. “Once again, the JAAC seeks implementation of its charter of demands by July 14. If there is no progress by the evening of July 14, we will make a new announcement on July 15. That day, there will neither be this charter of demands nor any demand for the implementation of any agreement. God willing, we will leave this place with a new announcement,” ...

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Information Department Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif claimed on Monday that state institutions had evidence of Indian funding behind the banned Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) “agenda” in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, the information secretary said that state institutions had credible information about foreign funding behind ongoing activities in AJK. “The institutions have evidence of the use of Indian funding to mobilise overseas Kashmiris, such as UK-based Amjad Ayub Mirza, to advance an anti-Pakistan agenda,” Hanif said. He urged the people of AJK to dismiss the “baseless disinformation campaign on social media” and participate in the “due political process to restore peace and order in the region”. The information secretary elaborated that for the past month, members of the proscribed organisation had carried out multiple “illegal and violent” activities under the guise of human rights advocacy. “This apparent human rights movement h...

MUZAFFARABAD: Despite the weekend, a shutter-down strike was observed across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday, alongside demonstrations called by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), with clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel reported from several areas, particularly in Mirpur district. Sources and residents said that around a dozen people, including some policemen, had been injured in clashes in Dadyal, the lakeside town of Mirpur district. There were also reports of some casualties, but these could not be independently verified. Meanwhile, the internet suspension in AJK entered its 30th day on Sunday. In Dadyal, clashes first erupted in Amb village. Witnesses said at least three people were injured. Another clash broke out later in the evening, after which another critically injured protester was brought to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital in Mirpur. Officials at the Mirpur Divisional Headquarters Hospital told Dawn they had received four injured persons, two of w...

MUZAFFARABAD: Government officials have ruled out the possibility of long marches as sit-in participants of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) are expected to hold demonstrations at their respective protest sites today. The main sit-in continued at the Eidgah ground, while smaller gatherings, with attendance ranging between 100 and 500 people, were also being held at Mutyalmera, Singola, Paniola and Shujaabad. According to official sources, participants at the main sit-in on the outskirts of Rawalakot were expected to organise a short rally near the protest site after assembling there at 2pm on Sunday. “There is no information suggesting they intend to move beyond their respective protest sites,” an official said, attributing the rumours of long marches to the absence of communication facilities in the region. An official described the sit-ins on the outskirts of the town as gatherings where participants mostly assembled in the evening “to enjoy the cool weather and free meals”. He said there ...