Directs the police, judiciary and administrative authorities to implement the decision and pursue further legal action
Commuters drive past security personnel as they patrol a street ahead of a protest by the outlawed JAAC in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on June 7, 2026. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Thursday withdrew earlier concessions in protest and agitation cases and reinstated 177 First Information Reports (FIRs) against members of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), citing violation of the October 4, 2025 agreement between the two sides.
The move comes amid escalating tensions in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have generated competing narratives of victims, government grievances and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths.
Last week, the AJK government banned JAAC, accusing the organization of involvement in terrorism, promoting hatred and creating anarchy in the state.
The ban followed JAAC’s call for a protest on 9 June. The organization has previously led large demonstrations demanding economic relief and political rights, with some protests ending in violence and deaths during clashes with law enforcement in May 2024 and September 2025.
According to official statements, the government concluded that the JAAC had breached the October 2025 agreement by returning to street agitation instead of pursuing dispute resolution through the implementation committee established under the agreement.
As a result, all protest-related cases previously withdrawn under the agreement have now been reinstated.
A statement issued by the Department of Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights in Muzaffarabad confirmed the decision.
“As per the decision of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, taken during its 41st meeting held on 5th June 2026, the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been pleased to give approval to withdraw the following notifications regarding cases relating to protests and agitation by the banned Joint Awami Court Action Committee in Kashad before various competent Jammu Judicial and State Action Committees in Azad.
Read also: Tariq Fazal rejects JAAC’s claims of inaction, says most agreement obligations met
The order revoked several previous notices issued between December 2024 and December 2025, including those dated December 7, 2024, December 15, 2025, December 26, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
It also directed relevant departments, including the police, judiciary and administrative authorities, to implement the decision and proceed with further legal action. Officials said the move effectively rolls back leniency previously granted to people facing protest-related charges, maintaining that the agreement had been violated.
FIRs
The reinstated FIRs relate to protests held across AJK in September and October 2025, where the JAAC launched a campaign demanding governance and constitutional reforms.
The demonstrations escalated into violent confrontations with security forces, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people, including three police officers.
Among JAAC’s key demands were the abolition of privileges for the political elite, the removal of 12 refugee-reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly and reforms to the quota system.
After the unrest, the government and JAAC reached an agreement in October 2025 on a broader reform framework. The agreement included the formation of a high-level committee to review contentious issues, including refugee representation.
Subsequently, the government withdrew cases against protesters involved in the Long March and related demonstrations. Officials said 177 FIRs were dropped through notices issued in December 2025.
However, cases related to deaths during the unrest were not withdrawn and remain under legal process. A proposal to set up a judicial commission to investigate the violence is also still under consideration.
Background
The recent unrest and deadly clashes in areas including Rawalakot where the recently banned JAAC had held a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. AJK police claim that armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcers in a planned attack, leaving four people dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this account and claims that security forces used tear gas and fired grenades at the hospital.
According to the AJK police, three people associated with JAAC and four policemen were killed during the protests on Sunday. However, JAAC said in a statement on the X that seven people were killed and dozens were injured when street shelling was carried out in the dark after power was reportedly cut.
The clash on Sunday came as the AJK government and the JAAC witnessed a face-off when the election date for AJK was announced on July 27.
Read more: Certain elements seeking to destabilize AJK despite repeated offers of dialogue: Rana Sanaullah
AJK’s 53-member legislature includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees – people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now spread across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people) – an already lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair.
The region experienced one of its most turbulent periods last October, when protests led by JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and government reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest.
JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had presented a comprehensive charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly spaces reserved for refugees and the abolition of the quota system.
Two days after the violence, the government and JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core points and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to set up a high-level committee to look into the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Read more: Four Policemen Martyred, Over 20 Injured in Rawalakot Firing: AJK Police
The unrest also triggered political upheaval in the region. The PPP subsequently presented a no-confidence motion against the then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz participating in the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign.
On 17 November, Rathore secured 36 votes in the election and became the 16th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
With elections now approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost all major parties participated – except PTI and JAAC, which boycotted it.
JAAC’s position is that the government had already rejected its written proposal submitted on May 30, so it would be futile to participate. It had proposed either to retain token refugee representation until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or to replace the 12 seats in the Assembly with 4 seats in the AJK Council – a body headed by the Prime Minister, which it argued would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir issue.
The APC rejected any change outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could change refugee seating arrangements. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of completely trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests rather than those of the public.
