MUZAFFARABAD:
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has accused the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (Jaac) of causing financial losses of Rs 15 billion to the state through violent activities and alleged that the group has links to anti-government elements backed by India.
Addressing a press conference along with the AJK Police spokesperson on Monday, Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif said the banned organization had caused a significant financial loss to the state, greatly straining its limited resources.
He said the group had disrupted law and order, routine life, businesses and students’ education under the guise of defending human rights.
The allegations come days after authorities claimed to have uncovered evidence linking protest organizers and overseas traders to India, accusing them of promoting anti-government narratives and orchestrating unrest through coordinated campaigns.
By way of background, Hanif said the movement emerged in the early 2020s in response to global inflation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the AJK government had immediately addressed public grievances by providing subsidy on wheat and electricity, adding that both commodities remained cheaper in AJK than anywhere else in Pakistan.
According to the Information Secretary, what initially began as a public movement was later hijacked by anti-state elements, diverting it from its original aim towards political motives before evolving into an unregistered anti-state movement.
He said video evidence had been shared with the media showing Jaac leaders and overseas traders shouting slogans against Pakistan and its armed forces while promoting chaos and anarchy.
Hanif claimed that the group’s activities had gradually escalated from peaceful protests to organized violence targeting government institutions and law enforcement agencies.
Referring to the group’s first sit-in in 2023, he said protesters crossed peaceful borders by attacking government facilities in Dadyal. He said violence intensified during the 2024 sit-in, when activists clashed with Islamabad Capital Territory police and desecrated law enforcement uniforms.
He further claimed that the movement had increasingly targeted government officials. According to him, members of the group tried to assassinate an assistant commissioner in Chamyati and physically assaulted a police inspector and other officials in Bagh.
He also expressed concern over what he described as the group’s use of women and children as human shields during confrontations, calling the practice dangerous and unacceptable.
Hanif claimed there was credible evidence of foreign funding aimed at mobilizing members of the overseas Kashmiri diaspora to fuel unrest in the region.
