AJK govt alleges banned JAAC had India-backed links, caused Rs15bn loss

ISLAMABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Monday accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of inflicting Rs15 billion in losses on the state through what it described as violent activities, while also alleging links between the group and anti-state elements backed by India.

Speaking at a press conference alongside the AJK Police spokesperson, Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif said the banned organisation had imposed a heavy financial burden on the state despite its limited resources. He said the group had disrupted law and order, daily life, business activity and students’ education while presenting itself as a movement for human rights.

The allegations came days after authorities said they had found evidence connecting protest organisers and overseas handlers with India. According to the government’s account, these actors were involved in spreading anti-state narratives and coordinating unrest campaigns.

Government account of the movement

Hanif said the movement first emerged in the early 2020s against the backdrop of global inflation triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the AJK government responded promptly to public complaints by extending subsidies on wheat and electricity, and maintained that both remained cheaper in AJK than elsewhere in Pakistan.

According to the information secretary, the movement initially began as a public campaign but was later taken over by anti-state elements. He said this shifted it away from its original aims toward political objectives and eventually turned it into what he described as an unregistered anti-state movement.

Hanif said video material had been shared with the media that, according to him, showed JAAC leaders and overseas handlers raising slogans against Pakistan and its armed forces while encouraging disorder and unrest. He also alleged that the group’s activities moved over time from peaceful protest to organised violence directed at state institutions and law enforcement personnel.

Allegations over violence and officials targeted

Referring to the group’s first sit-in in 2023, Hanif said protesters went beyond peaceful demonstration and attacked government installations in Dadyal. He said the situation worsened during the 2024 sit-in, when activists allegedly clashed with Islamabad Capital Territory police and desecrated law enforcement uniforms.

He further alleged that government officials had increasingly come under attack. According to Hanif, members of the group tried to assassinate an assistant commissioner in Chamyati and assaulted a superintendent of police as well as other officials in Bagh.

The information secretary also expressed concern over what he described as the use of women and children as human shields during confrontations, calling the practice dangerous and unacceptable. He added that there was credible evidence of foreign funding aimed at mobilising members of the overseas Kashmiri diaspora to stoke unrest in the region.