JAAC protesters disperse from sit-in sites near Rawalakot amid fears of crackdown

MUZAFFARABAD: Activists and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) ended all three of their gatherings on the outskirts of Rawalakot shortly after midnight and returned to their home areas, officials said on Friday, after indications that the authorities were preparing a large-scale operation against them.

The standoff between the regional administration and the JAAC has centred on a range of issues, most prominently the committee’s demand for the abolition of the 12 seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan told Dawn in the early hours of Friday that the sit-in sites had been vacated. He said the administration had on Thursday evening formed a force of around 1,000 personnel drawn from the Rangers, Federal Constabulary, Islamabad Police and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Police for what he described as decisive action. He added that between 70 and 80 armoured and other vehicles also took part in a flag march.

According to Khan, the administration had earlier sent a law enforcement team on Thursday morning to arrest Umar Nazir Kashmiri, one of the JAAC’s hard-line core members. He said backchannel communication was then carried out through District Bar Association President Sardar Javed Nisar and Poonch District Council Chairman Sardar Javed Sharif, who conveyed a message to Kashmiri to surrender in the interest of his own safety and that of the protesters.

Khan said Kashmiri had responded that if the notification declaring JAAC a proscribed organisation was withdrawn, he would announce an end to the sit-ins and surrender before the local station house officer. The commissioner said that after he asked JAAC leaders to continue their sit-in while he consulted higher authorities, their tone shifted and they began saying they would maintain a peaceful protest.

He further said that when news of the large flag march in Rawalakot reached the JAAC camp, protesters feared the administration was considering a major operation. Khan said the administration began receiving reports of panic within the group by midnight, and about an hour later the Eidgah area had been completely vacated. He added that activists at the two other gathering points also dispersed after learning of the move.

Khan said all deputy commissioners had been instructed to raid the homes of activists wanted in any first information report, whether linked to past cases or the latest unrest. He also said the authorities had blocked the computerised national identity cards of 31 core JAAC members and later their passports.

“This time, there will be no compromise on the writ of the state,” he warned. The commissioner also expressed confidence that Umar Nazir would soon surrender before the local SHO.

Tensions in the region

The dispersal came after Rawalakot observed a complete shutter-down strike for a third consecutive day on Thursday. Violence was also reported that day, with one participant in a JAAC gathering killed and four others injured in a clash with law enforcement personnel on the outskirts of the town.

Also on Thursday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly that the JAAC should allow the people of AJK to decide whether the 12 refugee seats should be abolished.

Last Friday, after the JAAC announced a strike for June 9, the AJK government declared the body a proscribed organisation, saying it was engaged in terrorism and had acted in a manner prejudicial to the peace and security of the state. A day later, authorities launched a crackdown and arrested scores of its leaders and activists from different areas.

Sedition proceedings have also been ordered against two JAAC leaders, while a reward of Rs10 million has been announced for information leading to the arrest of four leaders. Tensions intensified further after a violent protest in Rawalakot in which at least four law enforcement personnel and seven civilians were killed. Islamabad has also sent federal paramilitary forces to reinforce the region’s police, and intending visitors have been advised to delay their trips until June 20.