Orders police, judicial and administrative authorities to implement the decision and take further legal action.
Commuters walk past security personnel as they patrol a street ahead of a protest by the banned JAAC in Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, on June 7, 2026. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Thursday withdrew earlier concessions related to protest and agitation cases and reinstated 177 First Information Reports (FIRs) against members of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), citing violation of the October 4, 2025 agreement between the two parties.
The move comes amid rising tensions in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have generated competing narratives about victims, governance grievances and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths.
Last week, the AJK government banned the JAAC, accusing the organization of being involved in terrorism, promoting hatred and creating anarchy in the state.
The ban followed the JAAC’s call for a protest on June 9. The organization has previously led large-scale demonstrations demanding economic aid and political rights, with some protests ending in violence and deaths during clashes with law enforcement in May 2024 and September 2025.
According to official statements, the government concluded that the JAAC had violated the October 2025 agreement by returning to street agitation instead of seeking dispute resolution through the implementation committee established under the agreement.
As a result, all protest-related cases that had previously been withdrawn under the agreement have now been reinstated.
A notification issued by the Department of Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, Muzaffarabad confirmed the decision.
“In accordance with the decision of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, taken during its 41st meeting held on June 5, 2026, the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been pleased to approve the withdrawal of the following notifications regarding cases related to protests and agitation of the banned Awami Joint Action Committee before various competent criminal courts in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” the notification said.
Also read: Tariq Fazal rejects JAAC’s accusations of inaction, says most of the agreement’s commitments were met
The order revoked several previous notices issued between December 2024 and December 2025, including those on December 7, 2024, December 15, 2025, December 26, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
He also ordered relevant departments, including the police, judiciary and administrative authorities, to implement the decision and proceed with further legal action. Officials said the move effectively reverses relief previously granted to people facing charges related to the protests, maintaining that the agreement had been violated.
FIR
The reinstated FIRs relate to protests held in AJK in September and October 2025, when the JAAC launched a campaign demanding constitutional and governance reforms.
The protests degenerated into violent clashes with security forces, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people, including three police officers.
Among the JAAC’s key demands were the abolition of privileges of the political elite, the elimination of 12 seats reserved for refugees in the AJK Legislative Assembly, and reforms to the quota system.
Following the unrest, the government and JAAC reached an agreement in October 2025 on a broader reform framework. The agreement included the formation of a high-level committee to review contentious issues, including refugee representation.
The government later withdrew cases registered against protesters who participated in the long march and related demonstrations. Officials said 177 FIRs were removed through notifications issued in December 2025.
However, cases related to deaths during the riots were not withdrawn and remain under legal process. A proposal to establish a judicial commission to investigate the violence is also still under consideration.
Background
The recent riots and deadly clashes in areas including Rawalakot where the recently banned JAAC had been staging a sit-in in front of the Rawalakot Combined Military Hospital. AJK Police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on law enforcement forces deployed in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this version, stating that security forces used tear gas and fired projectiles towards the hospital.
According to the AJK police, three people linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement officials were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on
Sunday’s clash came as the AJK government and JAAC witnessed a clash as the AJK election date was announced for July 27.
Read more: Certain elements seek to create instability in AJK despite repeated offers of dialogue: Rana Sanaullah
AJK’s 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now scattered across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people), an already imbalanced arrangement that many consider unfair.
The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year, when protests led by the JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three police officers, died during the riots.
The JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had put forward a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the elimination of the quota system.
Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 basic and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Read more: Four police officers martyred, more than 20 injured in Rawalakot shooting: AJK police
The unrest also sparked political unrest in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joined the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, preferred to face the vote rather than resign.
On 17 November, Rathore secured 36 votes in the elections and became the 16th chief minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
With elections approaching and the issue of refugee seats still unresolved, the AJK government called an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost all major parties attended, except the PTI and JAAC, which boycotted it.
The JAAC’s position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. He had proposed maintaining symbolic representation of refugees until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council, a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which he claimed would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause.
The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter the seating arrangement for refugees. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of absolutely trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests and not those of the public.
