Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections see federal crackdown on agitators

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry announced that the federal government will fully support the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) administration in crushing agitators who aim to disrupt the electoral process. He made the statement at a press conference in Islamabad alongside Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

The remarks came amid violent clashes in Rawalakot between law‑enforcement personnel and supporters of the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The AJK government has declared JAAC a proscribed organisation under the Anti‑Terrorism Act, accusing it of terrorism and linking it to armed militants and the extremist group Fitna al‑Khawarij. The ban was imposed days before a planned June 9 protest demanding the abolition of 12 AJK Assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian‑occupied Kashmir.

AJK Secretary of Information Muhammad Rashid Hanif warned that some JAAC elements had used civilians as human shields and that protesters were armed with modern automatic weapons. Police DIG Irfan Masood Kashfi reported that five police officers, including one officer, were injured after coming under fire. Authorities urged the public to stay safe and assured that the first phase of elections in the Mirpur Division proceeded peacefully.