AJK says banned JAAC sought to derail polls amid Rawalakot violence

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Tuesday accused the proscribed Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of trying to undermine the ongoing electoral process through violence and unrest, as clashes continued in Rawalakot during sit-ins by the group.

Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, AJK Secretary Information Muhammad Rashid Hanif said the administration would take all necessary steps to protect public order and ensure elections continued without disruption. He said the state’s foremost duty was to maintain law and order and urged citizens to be wary of what he described as misleading information being spread about the protests.

Hanif said the JAAC had been declared a proscribed organisation on June 5 under the Anti-Terrorism Act, days before its planned June 9 protest calling for the abolition of 12 AJK Assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.

He alleged that the banned group included armed individuals, militants and people linked to Fitna al-Khawarij, adding that state institutions possessed evidence of such involvement. Hanif also claimed that some elements within JAAC had used civilians as human shields during demonstrations.

AJK Police spokesperson DIG Irfan Masood Kashfi, who appeared alongside the information secretary, said some protesters involved in the clashes were carrying modern and automatic weapons. He said five police personnel, including an officer, were injured after coming under fire during the unrest.

Kashfi urged people to stay in contact with the administration and other state institutions, saying public cooperation was essential for maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Hanif said turnout in the first phase of the AJK elections in Mirpur Division showed that people preferred to settle disputes through peaceful and democratic means.

Federal minister links online campaign to AJK unrest

The developments came after Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that security agencies had arrested a suspect allegedly connected to an India-linked digital influence campaign targeting Pakistan.

Tarar said the suspect had been providing digital marketing services and that the investigation traced payments for anti-Pakistan social media content to sources in India. He also said investigators had uncovered a network of bot farms allegedly used to spread misinformation and amplify material targeting Pakistan’s sovereignty, government, armed forces and state institutions.

According to Tarar, the suspect told investigators during interrogation that a significant portion of the content circulated through the network was linked to the activities of the proscribed JAAC in AJK.