AJK’s JAAC accused of pursuing foreign agenda to sabotage regional polls

Pakistan federal ministers and Azad Jammu and Kashmir authorities have publicly accused the proscribed Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee of deploying armed violence and operating under Indian financial backing to disrupt the region’s legislative assembly elections.

During a joint press conference in Islamabad, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry and Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar asserted that the group’s ongoing campaign aims to disenfranchise local voters rather than secure public rights.

Chaudhry stated that thirty-seven of the committee’s thirty-eight demands had already been accepted by the government, rendering the continuing street agitation unjustified.

Information Minister Tarar added that law enforcement agencies recently uncovered an India-linked digital campaign network funding social media operations and bot farms specifically to amplify content associated with the banned organization.

The press conference coincided with statements from Azad Kashmir officials in Muzaffarabad following violent confrontations between law enforcement and protesters in Rawalakot.

Regional police and administration spokespersons confirmed that five police officers sustained injuries from automatic gunfire during the clashes, alleging that armed elements within the movement have used civilians as shields.

Despite the unrest in parts of the region, government representatives highlighted that roughly six hundred thousand citizens participated in the initial voting phase across Mirpur Division, characterising the high turnout as a definitive public rejection of efforts to derail the democratic process.