The AJK Unrest

Distrust in Azad Jammu and Kashmir is linked to a small but organized group that allegedly used social media manipulation, propaganda, and genuine public grievances to create an impression of widespread support disconnected from reality, deepening divisions within society and straining relations between the state and its citizens. The Rawalakot protests are said to have involved only a small fraction of AJK’s population of about four million, with fewer than 40,000 participants at peak attendance and likely around 10,000–15,000 overall, while more than five times that number reportedly traveled from Rawalakot to Rawalpindi on June 6 and 7. Many families moved weddings to Rawalpindi and Islamabad, sick people and schoolchildren left the town, and hundreds of families delayed school and college admissions until August because of the disruption. Most residents remained away from the protests to protect their families, forming a “silent majority,” while around 90 percent of people in other districts are said not to support the protesters’ agenda. Large political rallies in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Dhirkot, and Bhimbar are taken as evidence of stronger support for the constitutional political process than for the Rawalakot sit-in. Around 10,000–15,000 protesters are held responsible for disrupting daily life, damaging the economy, creating fear and uncertainty, and causing disorder over an issue that could have been resolved through legislation, dialogue, and democratic institutions rather than confrontation and violence. Aided by a few journalists acting as propagandists, the movement is accused of using manipulated images, fake news, and emotional appeals to create the impression that the whole of Azad Kashmir supports it, even though the participants are said to constitute less than 10 percent of Rawalakot’s own population.

The government has addressed many demands by reducing electricity and flour prices, abolishing refugee ministries, reducing the number of ministers, halving the property transfer tax, completing the Rathwa Hariyam Bridge, withdrawing FIRs and legal cases, compensating the families of those killed and 56 injured people, providing a government job to Azhar’s brother, approving a Rs. 5.5 billion PC-1 for MRI facilities, and approving a Rs. 9 billion PC-1 to improve the power transmission system.

The application to make Azad Kashmir Bank a scheduled bank has been submitted to the State Bank of Pakistan, a move that will strengthen the financial sector and provide greater access to banking services for the people. The health card has been restored, a vital social safety net program that provides access to medical care for those who cannot afford it, and its restoration was a major victory for the people. Two new boards of education have been established, decentralizing the education system and allowing for more focused and effective administration of schools. The Mansehra, Muzaffarabad and Mangla expressways are included in the CPEC project, a game-changing development that will bring massive investment, improve connectivity, and create economic opportunities for the region. The establishment of Mirpur Airport was announced by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on live television, a major milestone that will open up the region to the world and facilitate trade and tourism, and work on the feasibility has started, with the project now moving from the planning stage to reality. The quota system has ended, a long-standing demand that was seen as discriminatory and unjust, and its abolition was a major step towards equality and fairness. Additional departments were abolished and merged with existing departments, a move that reduced bureaucracy and made the government more efficient. The e-tendering of electricity meters was approved, a reform that will ensure transparency and fairness in the procurement process. The demand for 30 KVA for schools and colleges was approved, and the notification has been issued, ensuring that educational institutions will have access to a reliable power supply. Now, among the remaining demands, there is a demand for 4 tunnels and bridges, infrastructure projects that are undeniably needed and would greatly benefit the people, but in reality one single tunnel is estimated to be completed in 10 billion rupees, and the total development budget of Azad Kashmir is less than 40 billion rupees, meaning that these projects cannot be built overnight. The government or no one has any magical capabilities, and no airport, bridges, and tunnels can be built overnight, as they require years of planning, feasibility studies, environmental assessments, and massive financial outlays that must be spread over many years.

In fact, after approving so many demands, after demonstrating such a clear willingness to address the grievances of the people, to insist on only one remaining demand and to lay siege to the entire region and paralyze the lives of millions, one must ask a crucial question: is it the stubborn government or the action committee that is being unreasonable?

The so-called peaceful revolutionary sit-in of the banned Joint Action Committee has been completely exposed for what it really is, and the mask of peaceful protest has slipped to reveal the ugly face of violent insurgency. Their so-called rational teams, which were presented as peaceful negotiators and organizers, are in fact positioned on rooftops with state-of-the-art SMG guns and ultra-expensive military binoculars, and their purpose is not to maintain order but to monitor the security forces on the ground, tracking their movements and planning for a confrontation. This is not a political sit-in, which is a legitimate form of protest in a democracy, but a planned military confrontation against the security forces of the state, a deliberate strategy to provoke a reaction and to create martyrs. Recently a banned Action Committee’s leader made a revealing statement, admitting to the supply of modern US-made M4 rifles to troublemakers, a serious accusation that confirms the armed nature of the group and its intent to use violence against the state. The banned JAAC is using fake and AI generated videos and posts to get the support of the people, manufacturing evidence and creating a false reality to manipulate public opinion, and these fabricated materials are spread widely on social media to create a sense of crisis and to incite hatred.

The people of AJK are fed up with the violent activities of the banned JAAC, which have badly disturbed the lives of the people, disrupted businesses, closed schools, and created an environment of insecurity and fear, making it impossible for people to go about their daily lives. The stage of the sit-in in Rawalakot is used for speeches and motivating innocent people against Pakistan, the State, the Pak Army, and institutions, and these speeches are filled with hateful rhetoric designed to turn the people against the very entities that guarantee their security and development. If the banned JAAC truly thinks that it has the support of all people of AJK, then they should have adapted the electoral and democratic process, which is the only legitimate path to power in a constitutional democracy, and they should have participated in elections through which, after getting a majority, they might have been able to make any legislation they desired. But they rejected the mature electoral and democratic process, they chose to bypass the will of the people expressed through the ballot box, and they have instead chosen violence, a path that has been condemned by all civilized nations. Now the people of AJK are engaged in a political process and election campaigns, exercising their democratic rights and choosing their representatives through peaceful means, whereas the banned JAAC is busy in violence in frustration, lashing out because they have failed to gain the support of the masses. The remarkable turnout in recent elections shows that the people of AJK has rejected the violent activities of the banned JAAC and has chosen the mature way of democracy, clearly indicating that they do not endorse the path of confrontation and chaos.

The banned JAAC wants to sabotage the elections and the will of the people of AJK, because they know that a free and fair election would expose their complete lack of popular support and their irrelevance in the political landscape. The issue of refugees and 12 seats is purely a constitutional matter, a complex legal question that should be resolved through the proper constitutional channels, and the banned JAAC has spread distrust in AJK just for a constitutional issue that could have been easily addressed through dialogue and parliamentary debate. To speak against the State, Pakistan, the Pak Army, and Institutions and to kill the LEAs is not a movement for people’s rights, it is insurgency and rebellion, a direct attack on the authority of the state and its ability to maintain law and order. Even the majority of people of the Poonch district are not with this violent movement, and the false claim that the entire district is behind the protestors is a blatant lie designed to create an illusion of unity where none exists.

The banned JAAC is doing violence in AJK and has made an environment of fear and distrust in AJK, turning neighbor against neighbor and destroying the social fabric of the community. The banned JAAC has transformed into a security risk for the State and the country, a threat that must be dealt with decisively to protect the territorial integrity and national security of Pakistan. They have weapons, and they attack and target the LEAs and public properties, engaging in acts of arson, destruction, and murder that are the hallmarks of a terrorist organization. The real intention of the banned JAAC is to get dead bodies to ignite the fire in AJK and to motivate people against the State, a tactic of provocation that is designed to create a cycle of violence that will destabilize the entire region.

The people of AJK are not with the banned JAAC, and they have made their position clear through their actions and their silence, for people are with Pakistan and the Pak Army, the institutions that have always stood with them in their times of need. People love Pakistan, the Pak Army, and institutions, and they have a deep and abiding affection for the state that has provided them with security, development, and a democratic identity. The people of AJK love peace, and they yearn for a return to normalcy, whereas a group of violent riots intends to destroy the peace of AJK, to plunge it into chaos for their own selfish political gains. The dirty intentions of the banned JAAC have opened the eyes of the people of AJK, and the people are now fully aware of the malevolent forces that are at work, seeking to exploit their grievances and lead them down a path of destruction. The banned JAAC is also involved in getting Indian support, a treasonous act that is completely against the national interest, and even analysts and people say that the banned JAAC has got support from terrorist groups like TTP and Fitna al Khwarij, a serious allegation that links them to the worst enemies of Pakistan. The people of AJK are now looking towards the government to make normalcy in AJK immediately and to get rid of the peace of AJK from a group of riots, and they have complete faith that the government will take all necessary measures to restore peace, to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice, and to ensure that the voice of the silent majority is heard and respected, and that the constitutional and democratic process will be allowed to flourish, unhindered by the threat of violence and intimidation.