Raja Amjad Khan says Rawalakot protest caused hardship and claimed several lives during prolonged unrest
Former JAAC core member Raja Amjad Ali Khan urged the group’s leaders to immediately call off the month-long Rawalakot march and sit-in. PHOTO: EXPRESS
MUZZAFARABAD:
Former senior member of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), Raja Amjad Ali Khan, on Sunday appealed to JAAC leaders Umar Nazeer Kashmiri and Khawaja Mehran to immediately withdraw the call for the long march and sit-in in Rawalakot, which has continued for over a month.
In a video message, he said the prolonged protest in Rawalakot had caused immense hardship to the people of Rawalakot Division, particularly Rawalakot, and said several precious lives had also been lost during the unrest.
Khan urged the people of Rawalakot not to take part in disruptive elements and instead support efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability. He also appealed to the Kashmiri diaspora in the UK and other countries not to depend on unverified information circulating on social media and play a constructive role in promoting peace in the region.
“The time has come to relieve the people of Rawalakot from these hardships and restore peace, stability and normal life,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government spokesperson Chaudhry Guftar Hussain and AJK police spokesperson Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Irfan Masood Kashfi said in a joint press conference that both the AJK government and the Pakistan government had consistently prioritized dialogue, reconciliation and peaceful resolution of public issues.
They said that according to the agreement of October 4, 2025, all 38 demands of the now banned JAAC had been accepted in the general public interest. However, they alleged that the committee subsequently deviated from demands relating to fundamental rights and pursued anti-state objectives, leading to its ban by law.
The government spokesperson said the 36-day sit-in had severely disrupted the supply of food, medicine and other essential commodities in Rawalakot division. He said blockades on highways and link roads had paralyzed public movement and created shortages of essential items in several areas.
DIG Kashfi said the government had both a constitutional and moral obligation to restore the blocked roads, but alleged that every attempt to reopen them had been met with resistance and gunshots from JAAC members.
He claimed that road cleaning teams in Shujaabad came under heavy fire from adjacent areas and nearby forests, injuring law enforcement officers. In Arja-Jhandala, he said, an excavator operator was injured after the machine was attacked while clearing a blocked road, while security personnel escorting the injured operator were also attacked.
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The government spokesperson further alleged that the JAAC planned to use women and children as human shields by placing them in front of law enforcement personnel, keeping them in the protest against their will, and sending them carrying copies of the Holy Quran and white flags. He termed such alleged plans as condemnable and said the Holy Quran should not be used in any confrontation or protest as it was contrary to its sanctity and Islamic teachings.
He also described incitement, attacks on law enforcement and damage to public property as unacceptable.
The spokespersons warned that the JAAC would be held responsible for any untoward incidents arising from the ongoing protests.
They reiterated that maintaining the rule of law and providing relief to citizens remained the constitutional responsibility of the government. They also reaffirmed that the upcoming AJK Legislative Assembly elections will be held as per the announced schedule, with no possibility of postponement or changes, adding that all administrative and security arrangements had been finalized to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections.
Appealing to the public, the spokespersons urged residents of AJK to responsibly participate in the democratic process by exercising their right to vote and rejecting inflammatory propaganda, rumors and divisive narratives. They said preserving peace, stability and the rule of law was a shared responsibility and called on people to remain vigilant against what they described as misleading campaigns aimed at damaging AJK’s peaceful image.
They added that the AJK government and other state institutions would continue to safeguard peace, uphold the rule of law and protect public interest at all costs.
