AJK Compiles List Targeting 100 Individuals Aligned with JAAC Amid Crackdown

MUZAFFARABAD: Authorities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Poonch division have compiled a list of approximately 100 serving and retired government officials, along with military personnel, accused of involvement in sit-ins organized by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The dossier has been forwarded to relevant agencies for potential disciplinary measures.

Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan confirmed the initiative on Sunday, stating that the list could expand as investigations continue. “This is no longer a rights campaign. Their actions, including inflammatory rhetoric, constitute treason,” he asserted, referencing remarks by JAAC leader Khawaja Mehran Arshad during a Rawalakot Eidgah Ground speech targeting Kashmiri-origin military staff.

Dawn previously reported that Arshad is already under investigation under Section 124-A (sedition) of the penal code.

JAAC suffers setback as two core members distance themselves from group

Khan emphasized that ordinary participants would not be penalized, but warned they were being manipulated to destabilize the state. Property seizures under the Anti-Terrorism Act’s Fourth Schedule commenced concurrently, with 15 properties sealed in Rawalakot, including businesses owned by Umar Nazir Kashmiri and a travel agency. Officials reported 10 more properties being secured elsewhere in the division.

Commissioner Khan urged JAAC leadership to establish a four-member committee, excluding four detained activists with active arrest warrants, to initiate dialogue post-protest closures. Critics noted JAAC leaders had imposed preconditions for disengagement.

Setback for JAAC

The JAAC faced internal fractures as founder-member Raja Amjad Ali Khan resigned from the movement in a social media video. He accused organizers of distorting the movement’s peaceful aims, citing anti-Pakistan rhetoric and collusion accusations. Former associate Anjum Zaman Awan echoed his rejection of JAAC, with both figures named in the disciplinary list.

While some businesses resumed operations in Muzaffarabad, prolonged instability continued to disrupt daily life in Poonch and Muzaffarabad divisions.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2026

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