AJK home secretary accuses banned JAAC of social media incitement

ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Home Secretary Chaudhry Guftar Hussain on Wednesday accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of running coordinated social media campaigns built on what he described as baseless claims and propaganda to provoke people against the state.

Speaking to the media, Hussain said the banned group had, after what he called its leaders’ indifference towards their own party and failure to honour promises, turned to using women and children as human shields. He said such conduct was unethical and contrary to Kashmiri values.

Referring to students, he said disrupting their studies endangered their future.

“Distracting students from their education means playing with their futures.”

Hussain alleged that JAAC had pushed anti-state narratives, stirred hostility against the Pakistan Army, and tried to harm the longstanding relationship between Pakistan and AJK. He also said the group had blocked roads, restricted public movement and disturbed daily life for ordinary residents.

“All these actions prove that JAAC’s actual purpose is not to protect the rights of the people but to damage AJK’s peace, economy and law and order.”

Clashes and security operation

The home secretary said the state would continue taking steps to preserve peace, maintain law and order and ensure public safety. He further alleged that JAAC had consistently initiated provocative actions while blaming state institutions for the unrest.

According to Hussain, armed groups linked to the unrest had shown a willingness to attack and fire on unarmed citizens. He also said JAAC leaders presented themselves as victims when their workers were harmed, describing that as regrettable.

On Tuesday, deadly clashes in Poonch division left two law enforcers martyred, while seven JAAC activists also died. Hussain said efforts to undermine ties between Pakistan and AJK would fail, and claimed that the group’s references to the Pakistan Army in its statements raised serious questions about its aims and possible links with anti-state forces.

AJK police spokesperson Irfan Masood Kashfi, who also addressed the press conference, said security personnel’s foremost responsibility was to protect life and property. Referring to Tuesday’s violence, he said the clashes erupted when police moved to remove road blockades and added that operations were continuing to restore normal traffic flow.

Kashfi said a road in the Shujaabad Kotera area was cleared on Wednesday morning. He said the operation would continue until all blocked routes were reopened and that no armed groups would be allowed to challenge state institutions.

Background to the ban

A day earlier, Hussain had said an operation was under way to remove obstacles set up by the proscribed JAAC at entry and exit points in the region, warning that the government would deal with what he called blackmailers with an iron hand.

Earlier this week, a former core member of the banned group appealed to its leadership to immediately withdraw its call for a long march and sit-in in Rawalakot, saying the month-long protest movement had caused severe hardship for residents of Poonch and that several lives had already been lost.

On Saturday, officials said at least one man was killed and several others were injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel on a major road linking Arja and Rawalakot district.

On June 5, after JAAC announced a strike for June 9, the AJK government declared the body a proscribed organisation. The following day, authorities began a crackdown and detained scores of its leaders and activists from various areas.

Hussain also said the AJK general elections would go ahead on July 27 as scheduled, adding that election campaigning was continuing in the region. He praised political parties for carrying out campaigns in Poonch division in the same way as in other parts of the state.